The Shadow Snivy
by Shadow Snivy
Summary: A mutated snivy grows up with the impression of the world giving nothing but suffering. All of his perspectives change when he discovers a way to be with his own kind and leave the Sinnoh region, but with sacrifices. He has to take care of a Pokémon just like him as he journey's back to where he rightfully belongs, but with a hidden prophecy. -Hiatus for MASSIVE revisions!-
1. Life Changes

**Shadow's POV**

My hand instantly was cloaked with a shadowy mist and my fingers sharpened into blades. I shot forward towards the buzzing combee who nimbly fluttered to the side, but just as fast I redirected the attack and leapt at the honey Pokémon. Before it could react I left a deep slash in his honey hide and he screamed with rage. He crashed to the ground from all the damage he received, on the verge of fainting.

With no emotion, I walked stiffly up to the combee. I moved my leafy black tail and threw it on him, than I pushed down with a small amount of pressure, but for him it was enough to make him silently scream. "Get lost, or you'll never hear the end of it," I hissed, moving my tail away. After a couple failed attempts, the combee weakly flew back into the air, and then after he cursed at me he struggled off into the forest. I was alone again.

An exasperated sigh escaped my lips as I trudged over to the nearby river. It was all getting too easy. After all the battles I did, the Pokémon of Eterna forest were never strong enough anymore. I could break one of them like the snap of a twig. The only thing the combee left from the battle was a small bite mark on my scaly tail and a glob of honey on my foot, not to mention being caked in dirt and grime. I glanced at the river to see my wavered reflection. My black leafy tail was covered in a few scars. My eyes were an icy blue, so cold that it was like they reflected the hatred and animosity in the world. My purple belly was smudged with dirt, and I noticed I had another bite mark from the combee's Bug Bite on my blackened arm, and I didn't even notice.

My form showed that I was a snivy. The leaf tail, the grass snake appearance, and the wide cunning eyes, there was no mistaking that I was a snivy. Except, I didn't necessarily have the normal colors of a snivy. The normal green scales a regular snivy had wasn't there, but instead replaced by a pure black color. The regular yellow and tan parts of the body were turned into a toxic purple. Regular amber eyes transformed into an icy blue. I may have had the form of a snivy, but my colors weren't even relatable to a normal one. I looked like a monster. Some of the forest residents said that I was a walking madness and I was a demon sent from giratina, but none of that was true, not like they believed me.

The past I had was full of despair. I was what people called a shiny Pokémon. My scales glimmered in a faint amount of light, and my colors were a bit different from a regular snivy. They didn't look like the scales I had now. They instead were a bright cheerful blue-green. My serperior parents despised me because of this however, and they never named me. And then I was caught in a trap by some sort of poacher, but before it came by some scientists wandered around and freed me, but they shipped me to the Sinnoh region and I was experimented on. A lab in Sandgem town had all these people who were researching the power of shiny Pokémon. They conducted experiments, ones to see if they could somehow extract my shiny blood, but they failed, and not only did they mutate my colors but they gave me the moves Shadow Claw and Cross Poison. I had no idea how or why they messed up so majorly, but all I remembered was after I escaped, I was considered a mutant and a monster by all wild Pokémon.

I slipped into the cold river, shuddering a bit at the temperature but quickly getting used to it. I started to clean the dirt from my skin and wash out the bites before an infection could've set in. Next I scratched off the honey from my purple foot, which took a bit of effort. Soon I was cleansed of any traces of the short battle, and so I padded out of the river.

Water dripped down my unnatural black scales as I walked along the edge of the river, heading upstream. While walking, I saw a small school of magikarp floating among the current. They flapped their fins, splashed water, jumped in the wind, and did anything else they could do while following the course of the current. They did anything that a normal magikarp could do. I wish I was normal.

Accidently my gaze stuck on my reflection in the water, staring at the identical, blurry copy of my unnatural self. I was no shiny snivy, but instead an abused, strange-looking mutant. The emotion in my icy eyes was only one of pure hatred. Before I felt my anger build, I looked away from my abnormal image. I was looked at as a freak, a monstrosity, a demonic snivy sent from hell.

Finally after I padded along the stream a bit longer, a figure formed in the distance. In the river was a bunch of logs, branches, and twigs that were placed together to form a den. To be exact it was an abandoned bibarel den, but it soon became my home. More of my disturbing grief-filled memories clouded my mind. After I escaped the lab, I lived in Eterna forest for six painful years, years that were filled with hatred and envy. Each horrible day I had held the thoughts of how much I hated the ones who made me like that. I remembered what happened, all that time back, all the pain and suffering as a child, and how I escaped from the pain only to have it continue…

_Flashback_

I still tried to recover from the incident that just took place. My heart was beating wildly against my chest. My scaly arms wouldn't stop trembling. The icy blue eyes of mine were wide in terror. I didn't know what attack I used, but it was something supernatural. It was something that my species probably wasn't able to do, but because of those cruel scientists, it was another burden for me to carry.

The move was like a wave of poison in the shape of an X. The recent memories continued to shoot around in my head and remind me of the window of opportunity I had. I blasted the wave of poison at the terrifying people, and they fell to the tile ground in excruciating pain. My instincts shouted at me to run, so I did. I jumped onto a counter and leapt out of a window and tumbled to the grassy world outside. I ran across the grass, I ran to a dirt road, and I ran out of town.

How could I use that attack, it was unnatural, it was crazy! It was some sort of phenomenon or realistic dream, it had to be! No, it wasn't, no matter how much I wanted it to be, because it was too real to be fake. Those needles and liquids… they made me shoot that attack of poison in the shape of a cross.

Shouts were audible in the distance, snapping me from my terrified thoughts. I didn't dare to look back, and so I let my tiny, sore feet continue to carry me into the grassy path that followed. Ahead there were several patches of rustling grass. Pokémon scurried silently and calmly, being concealed in the vegetation with ease. When I came to the vast line of grass, I skidded to the halt and froze, my scared thoughts stunning me for a second. I stared at the tufts of grass that was taller than me and did nothing else.

_"I think its heading to Route 203!"_

The voice was unmistakable for one of those devious scientists. The human's voice was enough to thaw me from my paralyzed state of fear. I knew I couldn't waste another second, so I dashed forward through the wild shaking grass. Blurs of green swerved around me while I heard surprised squeals from Pokémon; of course they would be freaked out…

I continued to run until I tumbled out of the patches of grass. I stood up and tried to run again but I tripped over my own feet, accidently smashing my head against a small boulder. My panic began to increase. I raised a leafy hand to the newfound bruise on my head, a throbbing pain slowly setting in, and I felt as if I was on the brink of fainting from exhaustion even though I didn't run that far. Quickly I forced myself back onto my purple feet. A cruel, frightening noise reached me, the crackling sound of electricity. I already knew what it was from, and it wasn't from a Pokémon like shinx, not in the slightest. The sound was from electric charged nets, ready for the catching, used by those scientists in extreme cases.

The voices of the scientists grew near. I turned around towards the voices with eyes like saucers. Standing in the grass with urgent expressions were three or four scientists, holding those pain-inducing nets. Those scientists were the same ones who made me turn into a black and purple monstrosity. The ones who gave me that mutant move of poison that they'd probably use for something extremely selfish. My thoughts filled with pain, anger, and panic was overwhelming. I couldn't go back, never, never…

When I tried to back away I tripped over my lagging tail. I tried scooting backwards as the fear consumed me, but my back bumped into a tree trunk. The gruesome scientists began to close in on their mutant snivy, the one that was cornered with no escape. My hope drained out of me like my blood in one of their needles. I couldn't get captured… no… no…_ no! Not again!_

There was no use. There was nothing I could do to escape their horrifying wrath. My shoulders slumped and I whimpered in submission, just waiting for the pulsing pain of the electricity to consume me.

Then I heard something. It was a pulsing noise with a sort of chime in it. I peered at the scientists, but suddenly some kind of rainbow beam rocketed out of the shrubbery and collided with those evil humans. Surprised screams were hollered from them before they were cut off, and each of them was blasted into the vegetation that surrounded us. Was I hallucinating? I couldn't tell, but I was paralyzed by witnessing that explosive move. They were blown away like a bowling ball smashing into pins. They were sent unconscious into shrubs and other things that lined the route, and whatever that rainbow beam was, thinking of the power made me shiver.

Adding to the supernatural miracle, a sky blue tiger-like Pokémon majestically jumped into the clearing, out from within the foliage. It had two magnificent ribbons for tails that fluttered gently in the breeze. There were pure white splotches in the shape of diamonds along her beautiful blue fur, and a huge purple cape waved around along her back. The thing that stood out the most was the giant blue crest in the shape of a diamond on her head.

I was stunned. Every part of me trembled in panic and fear. The majestic beast towered over me, holding its head up in pride, but all she was doing was intimidating me. I stumbled to my feet and prepared to run off, because it was no hallucination. "It's okay, I won't hurt you," she tried to comfort. I tried to ignore her soft voice and started to clumsily dash off.

As I continued to run further down the path, with a single leap she jumped and blocked it from me. A frown made its way to her muzzle and worry dotted her eyes. "Come on, you can trust me."

There was no where I could go without her blocking the path. It was some sort of powerful Pokémon, it was definitely coming after me, and if it was evil or nice, I had no idea. I was heaving and gasping with how exhausted I was. There was no way I'd be able to run that long before I'd collapse, so I knew I had to listen to what the beast wanted to say. "W-Who are you…?" I managed to ask.

Her frown flipped into a small smile. She took a cautious step closer towards me. "I'm Rainbow, a suicune," she answered calmly. I just stood there, tensed, weak, vulnerable, the perfect image of a huge Pokémon's prey. She took another step forward and no matter how much I wanted to flee, I forced myself to stay put. 'Rainbow' continued to talk. "Are you alright?"

Shakily I nodded my head. She took another step closer.

"Good. Anyways, now that I have your trust, I must say that you are some Pokémon. What kind of Pokémon are you?" she gently asked. Her voice, it was so calming, the suicune wouldn't try to hurt me… could it?

I felt flustered. In my short life I rarely talked to a Pokémon, not to mention that I didn't really know what I was. The only things I've been called were 'that snivy' by my parents and 'Snivy Tester 1' at the lab. Considering that both had the word 'snivy' in it, I guessed that was what I was. "An s-snivy," I stammered out.

She tilted her head in confusion. "A snivy? You don't look like a snivy. The last time I saw one of your kinds, it looked nothing like you." Of course she never had seen one like me. I was a mutant and an outcast by now. So slowly I began to tell her about my horrifying experiences, occasionally stuttering, mostly talking about my life in the lab. How they tried to extract my shiny powers to experiment on, but they messed up and made me look distorted. Then they started to conduct random experiments on me and I gained two unnatural moves.

The conversation went on for a while, and we trailed off the topic of my life in the lab. I learned a few things about Rainbow, and found out that she was a legendary Pokémon, and she also explained to me what those were too. Apparently they were very rare and extraordinary Pokémon, and that description fitted with Rainbow perfectly. She said that few people saw a legendary in their life time, so I was supposed to be very lucky to meet her. She also explained that she didn't belong in the Sinnoh region, but she was visiting another legendary Pokémon named Mesprit because of some trouble going on near her cave. Rainbow's life seemed so exciting. She even revealed that the problem with Mesprit was solved and Rainbow was going to cross the ocean back to her region, but she heard screams from town, so she took a detour, found me, and she knew that saving me was the right thing to do.

We talked for a couple more minutes. Most of the talk was about Rainbow though. Then we stopped when Rainbow had a dumbfound look, and then she groaned. She realized it was one of the most stupid ideas ever to be chatting in the middle of a common route, right where Pokémon trainers always went through. She offered me to climb on her back, so after a bit of hesitation I stumbled onto her ravishing purple cape and got a firm grip on it.

Before I was fully braced for her to dash, she sprang into the vegetation with a giant solemn leap, and I nearly tumbled backwards off of her. I clenched my hands on her magnificent cape and held on tight while keeping my body pressed against her back. After several mad dashes and huge jumps that nearly shot me off the beast, she landed quite gracefully by an old spooky building. "That's the Old Chateau," she explained, and also said that it was haunted. I shivered at the thought.

She ran pass the haunted mansion and soon we were by a quiet river. She walked next to the stream a little ways before something came into sight. In the river there was a bunch of sticks and twigs bundled up together and there was a hole in it. It looked like some sort of house floating on water.

"Rainbow, what's that?"

"This is an abandoned bibarel den. It belonged to a bibarel family, but they moved out ages ago. So it just sat here in this river slowly wearing down by erosion," she replied. I was confused on whatever erosion was, but I let the thought slide. I carefully climbed off of her back and stood right next to her paw. Comparing our heights, I was as tall one of her paws.

I padded over to the log den and cautiously peered into the hole. Inside the twigs was a space between the wood like a room that was fairly big. I turned back to look at Rainbow.

"Anyways, I have to go… uh, what was your name again?" I refused to make eye contact and stared out into the distance at the question.

"I… I don't have a name. At home I was called 'that snivy', and I was stolen about a week after I hatched from my egg. In the lab, I was either called Snivy or snivy tester 1," I choked out, my voice hoarse.

"Well what about we give you a name?" Her voice was surprisingly calm and not at all fazed by part of my depressing past. I shrugged the surprise off and considered the idea about the name. I swerved my head around to look into her enchanting eyes. In her eyes it showed a glint of happiness.

I reluctantly nodded my head.

So with that we rolled around a few names. One was Toxic for my purple color. Another was Blade after a move called Leaf Blade. I refused both of them. Others were Ivy, Lily, and Dutch, but I thought Ivy was too common, Lily was too girly, and Dutch was too sophisticated. None of them seemed to fit me. Then she offered Frenzy, Rex, and Storm, but all three of those names didn't match my personality, and they all sounded too tough. The only one that sounded nice was one called Shadow, but even though I knew that was a common name, it also seemed to fit some sort of dark, dangerous, demon type Pokémon. I was the complete opposite, shy, scared, and nice. Finally after Rainbow said that I was way too picky, we settled with Snivy.

With that, Rainbow said that she really had to head back to her region. She sprang up into the air and within a second she disappeared into the surrounding forest. I sighed, now seeing I was alone, but ignored the thought and waltzed into the den. There was an old dusty straw bed made out of twigs, leaves, and hay inside, but that was all. Everything else was the old rickety wood and a lot of spare space. I collapsed on the straw bed once I realized how tired I was.

I curled up, and soon I dozed off into a deep, nightmare-filled slumber.

_End of Flashback_

Barely had I choked down a hiss at my horrible memories. That was the last time I saw Rainbow, and she never checked up on me ever since. I knew she was a legendary, but, at the time I just didn't understand that much. The next day I went to go find something to eat like berries, and then several terrible events came up.

The first thing that happened was that there was a huge obstacle in the middle of a path, a giant fallen log. I tried to jump over it, spinning around to help cover some distance, but I ended up with an injured, numb, broken tail stuck in a tree. A nasty starly shoved me out of the tree harshly, and then I fell onto a buneary. That was when the rude forest residents crossed the line.

When I was out of the tree, the starly dropped berries, and since they were dropped from a high elevation they stung badly when they splashed on me. That was what they attended to do; to hurt me. I got off the buneary as fast as I could and offered the most intact berry to apologize, but she rudely threw it on the ground, crushing and ruining it, and then insulted me. She insulted how I looked like a mutant, and no matter how much I tried to apologize, she interrupted me, making me frustrated. A crowd of Pokémon gathered around us. After more insulting I realized that I was a freak in all of their eyes. I was hated, despised, evil.

Something in me snapped at that point, and I used a Shadow Claw attack and sent her rocketing into a tree. She wasn't exactly strong if she could be hit that far, unless back in the lab they also increased my strength without me knowing. I left her in a shivering, fainted state. After that I became the evil loner of the woods in the Pokémon's eyes. I didn't care though, and why should've I cared? After a few days later I changed my name to Shadow; the name that suited me perfectly by that point.

I continued to stare at my log den in the water, the rickety pile of wood that still remained sturdy in the river current. I trudged up towards the only thing I had left in the world, but I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw someone by my den. With clenched fists I shot up towards my home and the figure grew closer and clearer; it was that rude buneary. My anger rocketed sky high at the sight of her.

She gasped when she saw me running towards her, my arms in a crossed position, ready to throw forward a Cross Poison attack. A pathetic squeal came from her mouth and she screamed out the word stop.

Skidding to a stop, I was just a couple yards away from her, but that didn't stop me from shooting a death glare at her. "Why are you here rabbit breath?" I hissed in aggravation.

The buneary was cowering, but she managed to keep herself from fleeing from my fury. She shakily tossed a basket in my direction, the fragile human object landing a couple feet away from me. I stared at it in surprise. It was just like any ordinary picnic basket; it had two lids and it was woven together with strips of wood. The only difference was that the handle bent so it didn't have the usual U shape.

My gaze shifted back to the rabbit Pokémon. She still looked uncertain and lacked confidence, but she managed to speak in a raspy voice. "Take t-this basket, and get out of our lives. Me and a few forest residents gathered some information, and found out that there is a place called W-White Forest in a different region. There are supposed to be several snivys and their evolutions there. To get to that region, you go to the city of stone and get on something called an 'airplane'."

She refused to stare at me and instead looked downcast. She looked as fragile as a leaf while saying those things. The buneary really changed ever since that day I moved into the forest, it was like I shattered her spirit, but it wasn't like I cared. The 'city of stone' was what we called Veilstone city. So I was supposed to get on something called an airplane over there, and then I travel to a different region with a place called White Forest. If there were other snivys there, then that meant that was the region I was born in, before I was cruelly snatched away and shipped to Sinnoh. A couple years ago, I learned that the region I came from was called Unova, so that was where we were heading.

I wouldn't allow my hostile posture to fade. My glare zeroed in on the brown bunny Pokémon. "How do you know this?" I sneered.

"Like I'd ever tell you," she snapped. I didn't let it faze me that she went from her scared state to an angered one. I prepared to power up my Shadow Claw to get a good hit in, but she predicted what I was doing, so faster than the flick of a tail she hopped into the shrubbery, nimbly disappearing into my surroundings.

Once she disappeared from sight I scoffed. I hated that buneary so much. However it was interesting that she'd give me a basket full of stuff for that trip she talked about. It was almost like a gift, and I was curious on what was inside, but all the stuff was supposed to help me on that journey, and it wasn't like I was being forced to go.

No, I was going. There was no way I was going to sit in that forest inhabited with weak discriminating Pokémon. There was no one there that I liked. Everyone stared at me like I was someone who escaped from the circus, and I was sick of each scornful and judging eye. Not only that, but I might not be considered a mutant in that White Forest. It actually sounded a bit nice, and if there were other snivys, then maybe I'd finally be accepted. It was settled, I was going, and I was going tomorrow. The sooner I left the better. Plus it was autumn and winter would soon come around, and it would be best if I made it to the city of stone before snowfall.

First things first, I had to check what was in the basket, and then I'd get rid of what I don't need and find out what I did need. I walked over to the basket and moved a hand forward to flip a lid open.

The basket twitched slightly, and my hand froze in place. The basket shook again, adding to my confusion. After standing there like an idiot the basket shuffled yet again. I managed to forget on how freaky it was that there was a basket moving around, took a few steps towards where the basket moved to, and flung both of the basket lids open. I peered inside to find the cause of the unnatural movement.

My icy blue eyes shot abnormally wide and a lightheaded feeling struck me. Lying in the basket, surrounded by shards of a cracked egg and other material, stained with berry juice and surrounded by crushed berries, was a baby snivy. And it looked exactly like me.

Okay, where did the buneary get this basket?!


	2. A Travling Partner

**Shadow's POV**

I nearly yelled out in surprise. Right there, like an identical, small copy of myself, was a snivy. Even worse, even more horrifying and unbelievable, it looked just like **me**. It had that shadowy black and dark violet color in all the right parts. The only other thing that was different was the fact that it had normal amber eyes instead of my river blue eyes. I picked up the snivy with trembling hands, and dropped it harshly on the forest floor. Where in the name of Arceus did that buneary get _this _mutation from? When I looked at it, it was like looking in one of those distortion mirrors at a carnival that made me look smaller. Let alone where, but HOW could the buneary get this? It was crazy, unbelievable, and freakish!

In mid-thought, the snivy jumped out and hugged me with its tiny little arms. It was cute, I couldn't stand it. I hated cute, it distracted everybody from the real world. Suffering, starving, disappointments, the thought made me push the creature off balance with my violet-colored foot. The snivy fell, and then climbed wobbly back onto its feet in front of me on the mossy floor, and his amber eyes glimmered in the afternoon sunlight. I saw his eyes fill with tears, and he bawled out in a fit… unbelievable!

"Stop it!" I demanded as I couldn't take another second of this retarded abomination. He wouldn't stop, and a horrifying thought came to mind, I had to treat him with kindness. I shivered at the thought. Kindness was like a disguise, you can use it to get in good with anyone, even if you are cruel, shy, stupid, or basically any other personality. I picked up the baby, holding back an urge to slap the crying snake for being covered with berry juice, most likely from the crushed berries in the basket, and kind of rocked it, remembering some stuff I saw mothers did in the forest with their little cubs.

"There, there little…" I was about to scream 'imbecile', but I was able to hold it back. "…Darling, don't cry… don't cry." I couldn't believe I just said that! I wanted to puke in the river, but that could just make it worse somehow; I could have puked on the baby… but it could actually enjoy that, I don't know, babies are weird. Still ignoring the berry juice that stained his reptilian skin, I carried him toward the lazy river bank.

I bathed him in the shallowest water of the river, careful not to let him get carried away by the weak current, and splashed the water on him. He flinched a bit, but I continued. I didn't care what he thought. I didn't care it was too cold or too whatever. He was just another Pokémon, nothing special, well, except the unusual color that for some unnatural coincidence looks like me. I wondered if he could use different kinds of poison and dark type moves like me, but it was too early for him to learn how to battle. I continued to bathe him, and wash my sticky hands covered in berry juice in the process.

When finished, I carried him inside my den. He squirmed in my hands, but I didn't care about that either, except for how annoyed I felt. When inside, I put him down on the wooden floor and watched to see what he would do. His first action was to run. He started to dash toward the wall of my den, farthest wall from the door, and ended up face-first into one of the walls. He fell, but he stood back up and stared at me. I never understood Pokémon babies, and their crazy actions along with it. He then ran up to me, tripped, but then started to run up weakly to me again. I gave that expression that said _'Really?'_, and just stood there in annoyance. He then finally reached me after tripping a second time, and **hugged me**! He must have thought that I was his father… or _mother_ since I was the first one he saw when he hatched, since I assumed he hatched in the basket. Man, and when I thought I had enough trouble going on right now.

I pushed him away, but he kept running up to me. Finally, I thought that in order to get him tired and exhausted, I had to let him run around outside. I picked him up and carried him out the door and placed him on the grass near the river. While he ran around, finally ignoring me and giving me some relief, I watched the sun set and the moon start to rise. The stars started to spread around in the sky and the whole world was covered in a thick midnight blanket. I lay down on the autumn blades of grass and stared at the stars that shined like diamonds.

What could I do? I hated children, they are just so annoying! I could give the kid away, but what the forest Pokémon are rude, so if I left and dropped this kid off with some other Pokémon of the forest, they will look at him as they did for me when I came into this forest; a freak. They will bully him to a pulp, and I couldn't let him go through that, not how I did. One thing he could be wandering the forest and second thing his tail could be broken in a starly tree. I couldn't leave him here, and no matter what I do around here, he would become like me, a grass snake that grew up to be tortured as a kid and mean as a teen. Well, not like I'm a teen, but if he grew up at my rate, he might as well be. I had no choice, if I didn't want to take care of him; I had to do it in order for him to have a good life.

I stood up and stretched my tired limbs, and after, I looked around for the annoying scoundrel. He was by the river, watching the swimming magikarp. I walked over and watched it with him. It was boring, but he seemed to love it. While he was distracted, and not being a pain, I got my tail ready, and knocked a magikarp out of the water onto the grass terrain. The baby snivy kept yipping and cheering,

"Yip, yip, yip!"

It was cute, and again, I couldn't stand it. I watched the flopping magikarp. I liked starring at the fish than at the baby, but watching the magikarp wanted me want to puke.

"Yuck, this fish is making me want to…" I realized that I was saying this out loud and didn't want to say anything like 'puke' or 'throw up' around the kid. I looked at him and saw him staring right back at me. "… It's making me want to... go eke?" I said, making it sound more like a question than a statement.

"Eke, eke, eke," he mimicked. "Zeke, zeke, eke," he mimicked again, but saying it the first two times wrong the second time and he looked at the magikarp again. Then, I got an idea from him saying Zeke.

"Hey, uh, kiddo," I said, trying to get his attention. He looked up from the scaly fish and stared at me. "Do you want to be called Zeke buddy? Do you like that boy?" I said as if he was a poochyena or a growlithe. He yelled,

"Zeke, yay, Zeke, Zeke, yay!" He sounded like a little baby, which he was, but I knew what he was saying, he liked the name.

"Aw, you're a good kid, and its official, your name is Zeke." He kept yelling his name in the ebony colored night. I started to walk inside, hoping Zeke would follow, or not, either way, it didn't really matter. When inside, I collapsed on my straw bed and my eyes closed and I tried to sleep. All my muscles started to relax and I tried to sink in a deep slumber.

"Zeke! Zeke!" The voice squealed in my cabin. My bloodshot eyes shot open to see Zeke standing inches away from my face. He looked tired, and without any place to let him sleep, I lifted my arm, and he crawled under it and I wrapped my arm around him. It was sickening to me, but it was surprisingly warm. It was easy to fall asleep, so I drifted off into a dream land.

_I was in a forest, one that was full of Snivys, Servines, and Serperiors. I couldn't stop smiling. I wasn't judged for what I looked like, and in fact, I was loved for my unusual color and special powers. I had a bunch of friends, and our chief, a Serperior, protected our clan from other Pokémon. It was the best, and everything seemed perfect and I knew I was in White Forest._

_One spring morning, I was practicing my leaf blade with another snivy when I heard a cry. It sounded familiar, but I didn't really recognize it. I called off the practice and dashed toward the sound. It was from a TV in the house that we were training by. A window was open which explained how I heard the squealing sound, so I crawled on top of a haystack that lay under the window and peered into the old-fashioned home._

_The TV set was worn down and inside sat an old woman in a rickety rocking chair. On the TV, what I saw before my blue eyes was Zeke and scientists. Memories flew back to my brain and I remembered that a long time ago I left Zeke in the log den. He must have been found and experimented on. His eyes were no longer amber, but it was a mix of purple and yellow. It looked really weird, and he looked helpless. I could tell he was about to cry and sob. I shouldn't have left him there. I should have taken him with me. He would never have been forced to be tested on. I wish I could change the past. My whole body started to fill with an emotion that I never felt before; guilt. If only I brought him with me on my journey…_

I flung out of my bed and was breathing heavily. I lightly slept all night and when I jumped out of bed, I brought Zeke with me, and he was face down on the hollow log floor, not crying. I picked him up and settled him right side up, and he wobbled back to the straw bed with baggy eyes. He collapsed on the bed as I did the last night, and I started to feel worried. I had to leave on a journey in about a day, but I couldn't just leave the baby grass snake here. My dream was possibly going to happen if I didn't think of something quick.

Suddenly, it struck me like a lightning bolt.

I had to take Zeke with me; I had no other choice that would make us both happy. I hated that kid, but some urge inside me kept me from wanting to give him away. He would slow me down, but that annoying urge was telling me to take him with me. I could have just stayed, but I wanted a chance to be with my own kind, so I knew what I had to do...

"Zeke, wake up, wake up," I hollered at Zeke, trying to wake him up. I shoved him to wake him up as well, and I didn't care if he was sleepy, it was for his own good.

Zeke rolled over to face me and his amber colored eyes were partially bloodshot.

"Zeke, would you like to go on a little trip?" I asked. He looked exhausted, but when I mentioned the trip, he still had that tired look on his face, but he sprang up on his feet in enlightenment. Even if he was tired now, he would shrug it off, and we'll go to sleep earlier today, if he did good work at all, if not, than we would go late at night till we got everything we needed.

Yeah, it sounded cruel, but that was part of who I was.

All day we fetched extra berries and apples in the forest. We purified water from the river and bottled it than through the bottle in the basket, than gathered up straw in the forest for straw beds for when we have to sleep anywhere. Last we took any leftover supplies that would be left over in the floating log cabin that I call a bibarel den. Yes, this sounds a little humane, but have you seen how easy lives are for humans, they have the good life, so why not try and do stuff like how they do? So now was a time for Pokémon to take it up a notch.

We slept all night than we prepared to leave. Yesterday was pretty successful with everything we scavenged. We packed up, transported everything from the basket to a small leather case that was like a backpack, or satchel, that was mixed together and we carried everything easily like how you can carry a whistle around your neck. When sure that we had everything, besides the leftover berry juice from years back that stained the floor, we set off through the forest and started our journey to a home where we belonged, together, that I could hardly stand.


	3. Combee Calamity

_**?'S POV**_

The memories rushed back to my mind from a few years before in the morning autumn breeze. The place was as plain and crummy as ever. I recalled rushing in and eliminating the enemy I was sent to destroy. I sat down on the mossy terrain and starred at my new yapping partner. He was staring at an object of his own, and it was the old den. His furry face was cute, but disturbing at the same time, or at least to me.

"Hey boss?" the little lillipup yapped when he flipped around to face me. Falcon looked as if he was going to charge right into the place and rip everything apart. His face was an anxious gold mine and I could tell he couldn't control that thing he called a tail.

"What dogs breathe?" I harshly asked, still getting used to the partner arrangement.

"So how do we do this? Do we just charge right in unexpectedly, or do we sneak up and catch them off guard with the element of surprise?"

"Dude, we can't just attack right now, we have to see if they are home, or if someone else is in that floating log cabin. Then we will unravel the plot to get them. The most part is probably that the target will be in there sleeping and we just nab him in a potato sack or something," I explained. I beckoned at him, and we crept up to abandoned bibarel den to spot if anything was out of the ordinary.

I tried to peek through a gap in the cabin, but the only gap that showed anything was too far away for me to be able to look through with my brown eyes. My brown, silky fur started to stick up in worry. If we couldn't see what was happening without being spotted, it would be like us falling off a mountain in an avalanche. Now I wouldn't get my rank upgraded to Leading Veteran, and the most precious prize of them all…

My face filled with envy, but coming back to earth, I recalled the situation we were in, and worry swiped over my face once more. I then was struck with a lightning bolt and an idea raised my hope. I would lift Falcon on my shoulders and he would just describe to me what was happening.

I explained the idea to Falcon, and we agreed. I lifted the rascal on my fluffy shoulders and he peered through the logs. I waited for a response.

"Uh… boss-"

"Shh! Keep it down or they will hear you!" I screamed in a whisper.

"We don't have to, no one is in there, and also there is **nothing** in there." I nearly gasped at his statement. I ran through the opening that led inside, making Falcon lose balance and fall to the floor. I could hardly care, because something worse was happening.

It was vacant. I was positive it was the place, but it appeared everything was packed up and taken somewhere else. I had to track them down, or else the consequences will follow.

"Falcon, immediate scent search and give an evaluation report, stat!" I demanded. His nose scouted the surrounding area, and then he dashed back to my side to give the report.

"There are traces of two shiny snivys, one that is a male and was six years, two months, eighteen days, nine hours, forty-two minutes, fifty-two seconds, and .6539 Nano seconds old from last time the first shiny snivy was here." Man, talk about precise for Falcon with that scrawny nose.

"The second was also a male and was zero years, zero months, two days, nine hours, fifty-four seconds, and .4387 Nano seconds old from the last time it was here, and a small scent of Oran berries." That snivy sounded like a youngling (and a messy one have at it); so that meant it that he would be easier to assassin.

"They packed some berries in a little carrying case and left in… the south-east direction. They are either heading toward Eterna city, Veilstone City, or the caves in between. They are traveling together in the directions, and so far, they are about in the area of where all those combee live." I was amazed by the pup's outstanding ability.

"Really, you can tell exactly how both snivy's left, when they left, their gender, what they left with, a small trace of berries on one, and around the area where they are at right now, but not where exactly where they are heading to or there precise location?" I asked, partly impressed but a bit angry.

"Duh, you think I know EVERYTHING from a small whiff around the place?" he countered. I raised my splayed paw, and smacked the hound on the head. He whimpered a bit, but he settled down, than hollered,

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?" I replied by snickering,

"Because you are so full of yourself, now hurry up and follow their scent, and maybe we'll be able to find them." Falcon ignored the throbbing pain on his head and immediately ran out of the worn down piece of trash. I followed him, and he howled as soon as I exited. He dashed away into the forest, and I ran after him.

**Shadow's POV**

I could smell a faint trace of honey in the air, so that must have meant we were close to a honey tree or some combee, or maybe both. The forest was getting less humid and more trees started to vanish. The forest was coming to an end and soon we would end up in Eterna city. We passed by an old mansion and were then standing ground on a dirt path. I could see light both ways, but I didn't know which way to go since I never had traveled into the city before.

"_This way! This way!" _Zeke yapped, understanding Pokémon language a little better over the last day or two. Zeke ran to the right, and he tripped a bunch of times, but soon he was out of sight.

I let him go in his own direction. I knew that he would be okay in the forest; he was born to live in the forest. I heard many weak thud sounds and faint squeals, and finally the noises stopped. Out of sight, out of mind, and I instantly went back to looking for a way to go.

There were three ways. One was to the right; the way Zeke went. The second one was to the left; where I could hear the sound of water splashing against something. The last way was straight ahead; where I could see a lot of people, trees, and tall grass. The water way seemed to have some people, but the path straight ahead had a lot of people as well. I couldn't tell where to go; if I went the wrong way, it would take forever to get to the plane, and I might miss it.

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLP !" I heard the grass snake scream, his voice high pitched like a normal baby Pokémon's would be. It came from the eastern area, where he ran off. I felt my body overflow with guilt, and I felt ashamed. I should have known better than to let a two-day old snivy wander off in the forest knowing about nothing to survive. I let my hatred for my weak fear of cuteness and baby Pokémon get wiped out of my mind. I never felt that way before for something, or someone. Uncontrollably, my feet skidded toward Zeke rapidly. That never happened to me either. I soon was able to stop my feet and control my whole body again, but that had to happen when I saw a really bad thing.

There was a hornet of combee surrounding Zeke. He was glued to a large tree trunk with sticky honey. He was about to cry again, I could tell, but before I let him get hit with another attack, anger filled my body. All I saw was red, and I couldn't control anything. I felt my puny grass fingers clench up into a fist and my eyes narrow.

I launched a twister of leaves toward the hive of combee. The weird thing about my leaf tornado was that my unusual color also changed the color of the leaves into a rusty black instead of a light green. The different color didn't really change anything in a battle compared to a regular leaf tornado, but usually it confuses the enemies. The sludgy twister quickly covered ground and dozens of combee were too confused at the color of the leaves to see it coming, and many of them were sucked in, than thrown out. They were flung against the trees and other stuff in the humid terrain and they all collapsed to the ground. Some of them had lain there, fainted, but then most of them slowly flapped their tiny bee wings and they were back up once more.

It was probably my low level and how weak grass types were against bug types why most of them weren't down yet. My reptilian skin started to boil, and I knew I had a chance to attack while some where still distracted. I felt my arm tense, and I pounced at one of the combee with my shadow claw at an alarming speed that even puzzled me during the process. The combee flew down, making me almost get my sharp claws stuck in a pine tree, and then the combee flew close to Zeke.

I saw he was horrified. I realized what I was doing, and tried to control my actions. I finally was able to control the unexplainable rage inside of me, and my vision was clear, my muscles were all relaxed, and even I was horrified at my own actions. What had taken over me, and why did I have those feelings for Zeke. I starred at the combee edging closer to him, and his horrified expression was gone and he seemed to be relaxed. I was worried, but I didn't tense up and was some reason paralyzed in the spot and had to watch. The combee was using bug bite, but not on Zeke. It was tearing off all the honey that trapped Zeke, so that combee was probably trying to help us, but all the others weren't. Maybe she wasn't-

_**BAM!**_

A stinging pain snapped onto my dusk-colored tail. I twisted around to see a combee sinking his sharp fangs of a bug bite into my tail. I quickly reacted by jabbing the enemy with a close-range shadow claw. He had been slashed hard, and thrown backward into its fainted status. Immediately I toppled over and fell to the dark grass floor, cringing in pain. I could feel my tail slowly freeze, letting me know that blood was leaking out. I knew that it was my mistake to watch Zeke and that bee thing instead of protecting my own body. My eyes didn't fill with anger, but I just stood there and cringed; I wanted to move, but I couldn't. It was a bit funny; that reminded me of what happened to my tail when I first arrived here, it was in a broken.

All beady eyes of the furious combee were all staring at me. What did Zeke do to anger these angry bees? Were they just angry for Zeke intruding in their territory or did something else happen? There was no way to know during that situation, and I couldn't think with my eyelids growing heavy. Combees' wings were flapping furiously, aiming at me, ready to finish me off. I could even spot one familiar combee; the one that was spitting honey at my den a few nights ago; and he looked angrier than all the others. I closed my eyes, ready to endure the pain, and let them finish me.

I heard a whipping noise, and honey spitting, but I felt only the intense heat of the battle and the settle wind of the forest. I was able to open my eyes, and saw Zeke and that good combee fighting side-by-side. They were able to become friends in that short period of time was my guess. Zeke was using vine whip weakly on a few combee, and the good combee was using there alluring honey against themselves, and she spat it at the enemies wings. I was astounded that Zeke knew how to battle and was able to learn vine whip. A few combees fainted and most of them fell to the ground, covered in the good combee's honey. I was revived from flinching, and used cross poison on a few of the honey covered combees' and most of them have been defeated easily. I couldn't believe that I was fighting along with a baby and a stranger, but I knew I had to accept what I was doing. I used my darkened leaf tornado on a strong combee, and I shivered at the pain in my bleeding tail as more blood leaked out as time passed by. I collapsed to the ground from a sharp pain in my tail, but I climbed back up and kept fighting for the better.

"Hey little combee, you better get out of here before things get ugly!" I screamed at that one combee, right in the middle of me shadow clawing one of the annoying combees.

"And let you have all the fun, no way, I won't even be able to get out of here without being attacked. Plus, just call me Emily," she yelled back in response while she protected herself by making one combee fall to the dust from her sticky honey.

"Suits yourself, but don't say that I didn't warn you," I cautioned. I kept attacking with varies of attacks while I felt my tail losing more blood, and my head grow light. Zeke rested behind me and I tried to buy some resting time for him. Emily than had to take a break as well, but I knew I couldn't go much longer. Many combees fainted and a few combees dragged away some fainted ones from the battlefield, but more just came out of nowhere. I was weak, and was limited to only using close-rage attacks. I tried to surprise one with iron tail, but when I threw myself at a commander combee, the move failed, and I ended up just slapping the three headed bee, making his eye twitch, and sending a sharp pain in my spine. He used bug bite on my right arm, and I instantly was flung back in between the two resting Pokémon. I couldn't feel my arm, my tail was definitely broken, and I couldn't move or attack, helplessly lying on the mossy floor.

I felt really light headed and I felt warm, trickling blood bleed out of my arm. I could see the worried looks on the two Pokémon turn blurry, and then I passed out.

**Zeke's POV**

I could hardly tell what was going on. My head spinned and the world came to a still. My father that took care of me; that unique colored snivy that looked just like me, has passed out. I didn't know what to do, but hopefully Emily and I will fight side by side and make it through this situation. Even though I was only a few days old, I already knew I was thinking like a full-grown snivy. I also knew that my only two moves, vine whip and tackle, would have to work out and help me in this situation.

"_Emily, take care of my father, I'll take this from here," _I explained, still stuck with my little kiddy voice. I saw her triple face gasp, and then she nodded sorrowfully and shoved the snivy who I called my father and her into a bush that had a small opening on the inside. I felt my arms and legs quiver, but I managed to edge my way toward the honey bees and took a deep breath. I swallowed hard and I knew this plan had to work; compromising.

"_Look, I'm here in peace, I don't mean to hurt you,"_ I tried to negotiate, but there angry buzzes grew in sound.

"We don't listen to your deceiving lies, you attacked us and you call that peaceful?!" the commander combee countered. I felt an icy chill crawl up my spine, and I kept talking.

"_Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you, I was just trying to get out of this forest, but when I accidently tripped and crush one of you, I didn't know what else to do but fight."_ I recalled the fond memory of when I was skipping along and didn't see that pebble, and tripped and fell on a combee that was practicing something about flying close to the ground, and partly crushed him.

"LIES! I will not forgive you for your meddling ways, and our queen will surely fall into a buzzing tantrum of your mockery!" I could hardly understand what that annoying combee was saying, but I took a step back in intimidation. It wasn't working, but I knew if I didn't persuade them…

"ATTACK, ATTACK FOR THE QUEEN!" the commander yelled, and immediately, they all swarmed out and used an overpowering super gust. I ran away, but they were too fast. Their gust pulled me in and swished me around, and no later did the bush Emily and my father were hiding in were ripped out of the ground. We were all flung out, and soon all of us and the dead bush was flung into a pile of old honey. It shined like amber, but when we landed, it didn't seem so pretty any more. I couldn't move, and I could barely inch my way out of the current position; my tail stuck high in the air, bending my tail bone, than one of them grabbed the bag of berries that me and my dad gathered yesterday, and flew away with it; what a waste of time yesterday.

My father barely had just become conscious. His eyes were weary and Emily was just the same. My dad had a huge bloody mark carved into his arm and tail as blood stained her furless skin. Around the revolting wounds was puss with deep bite marks. It seemed like he was really hurt from it, and I knew I was too young to see this violence. I wanted to puke, but I kept my lunch where it should stay, and struggled to get out. Buzzing grew closer as I knew the combees were surrounding are area. My father immediately snapped awake, but Emily still lied in a trance, unaware of the enemies.

"Zeke, Zeke are you okay, or hurt at all?" Dad asked, worried.

"_I'm okay Dad, I'm just fine,"_ I reassured.

"Okay, first of all, I will figure a way out of this, and save your friend too. Second of all, DON'T call me your father, I am not! My name is Shadow!" I couldn't believe he was talking about how I wasn't his son when I was on the verge of crying. I never felt that depressed and frightened ever in my short life, well, besides the bee attack. Shadow was confusing to say he wasn't my father, but that wasn't the time to talk about it; Shadow and I had to get out and make it to the city.

My heart beat rapidly grew and I felt the sweat edge down my neck. Shadow tried to spring out of the honey, and so did I, but I barely moved and Shadow was able to move just a little more than me.

**Shadow's POV**

I was alarmed at how sticky this enormous amount of honey was. When I tried to get out, I actually sank a little more. It was just like quicksand that only sucks you in if you move. If there was only a fire or ice type, then it could melt or freeze the honey… or something like that.

Emily seemed to be more alert than what she was a minute ago. She was chewing the honey and flapping her wings, but here wings were paralyzed in the honey and her chewing didn't help much. Then, I was struck like a lightning bolt with a brilliant idea, and my tail was sticking out, so it was perfect.

"Hey honey breath, I bet you can't finish what you started, I know I can defeat you all even though I'm stuck in this golden blob!" I taunted. I didn't know much about combee, but one thing I did know was that they had a low temper. I could already hear there angry buzzes getting louder.

"How could you do that lizard tongue?" the commander combee insulted, but I gave him an evil glare.

"Try me," I teased. They buzzed so loud, it was deafening. They flew towards us, and directly at me. They were doing exactly what I thought they would do. My tail wiggled, and it showed a sliver glow with a rock hard exterior. I used my silver tail by stabbing it painfully into the dirt, and I ignored the terrible torture from the wound. I waited till they were only feet away; then I used my iron tail to rip myself out of the honey, and few of the combee flew right into the sticky prison, unable to stop at their outstanding speed and out of range to attack the kids. I tried not to fall down from the agonizing pain in my tail as the wound was filled with soil, and I partly flinched for a second, but was able to withstand it. Most of the combee were able to dodge my trap, and I used cross poison the second after I was able to withdraw from a temporary paralysis, and most of them dodged my attack by flying up and down, but a few were too slow and they were struck with a shocking amount of poison, and fell to the ground, lifeless.

I tried to use cross poison once more, but all were too far for my attack to hit them. I then tried my leaf tornado, but all of the bees flew high into the tree tops, and my tornado of black leaves was countered with a power gem; causing a small explosion and disintegrating my leaf tornado into dust. That was weird, since combee didn't know how to learn power gem. I attempted to peer into the treetops where they were hidden, and suddenly a huge bee came out, and it was definitely not a combee. It had only one face unlike all the other combees, and was about three times as tall. It had a set of arms with two orange claws on each hand with a gem on its forehead. It had two wings on each side of its body (a total of four wings) and it looked like it had a bunch of the combee attached to the bottom of it. It must have been some kind of queen… ha; it was the hive of combee's queen! I recalled that a combee's queen was called a Vespiquen, and this bug was pretty ugly for a queen.

"How DARE you attack my warriors! I will now seize this opportunity to bury you in the dust after how I was forced to come out of my honey palace to slay a tiny twig and his pathetic posy!" I could hardly understand the Vespiquen with that impressive vocabulary and an England accent. The only words I understood was 'attack, kingdom, slay, tiny twig, and posy'. I knew that even if I used my strong attacks like leaf tornado, cross poison, iron tail, or shadow claw; I knew more about Vespiquens than about combees. Vespiquens had the power to use other combees to their advantage with three strong moves.

If I attack nonstop, she would use heal order; a move forces combee to do something that heals her. If I was about to use a very strong attack, she would use defend order; a move that forces combees to do something that raises her defense, and after she is hit, she would use heal order to restore her health. And last, if she was about to attack, she would use attack order; a move that forces combee to attack someone and lower the opponent, also known as me.

There was only one move I knew about that could at least slow her down. It was frenzy plant, but I could only learn that by being a Serperior and by being taught by a human tutor.

"NOW YOU WILL HEAVE MY WRATH OF A THOUSAND COMBEES AND FOREVER LIE IN THE SHADOWS OF SORROW!" the Vespiquen hollered through the calm and still forest, making starly in some nearby willow trees fly away. I could understand the entire sentence of the angry hornet that time, and knew if I didn't try something, Emily, Zeke, and I would, 'heave her wrath'. I was scared that I might get killed with whatever from that hornet, and I couldn't help but panic. I searched for a hiding spot, but none was good enough, and the Vespiquen would see me run and hide. I thought about it, but than a thick cloud of gas rushed into the room.

The clear air suddenly transformed into a foggy monstrosity. I heard coughing from Zeke, Emily, all the combees, Vespiquen, and even myself. I attempted to find a good place for cover, but I couldn't see a thing. I also couldn't leave Zeke and Emily wide in the open. Somehow, I saw a shimmer of light reflected off what I assumed was that honey glob, and I headed towards it with my broken tail dragging through the dirt.

I found Zeke and Emily on the sides of the honey trap. It would be easy to yank them out, but if I try that, after they were out, the smoke would have cleared up by then, and I didn't have the willpower to find out who caused that smoke cloud in the first place. I couldn't help but panic once more. Finally... there was a battle that would test my strengths and risk lives, but I wouldn't even be able to make it out with everybody still in one piece…

**BOOM! **

A gigantic explosion came from somewhere within the smoke cloud. I wanted to check it out; see what it was, but it was too dangerous for these pestering kids. I had no other choice but to yank them out. I tried, one of my arms burning with pain, but they were wedged in, and the few combees that were stuck in the honey from my trap were making it even harder to get close to them. The only ways to get them free rushed back into my mind.

Have some Pokémon burn it and somehow melt the honey.

Have some Pokémon freeze it and let it break.

I knew I had no other choice, and I couldn't waste any more time, so I left Zeke and Emily and headed toward the explosion.

I tripped over my broken tail a number of times, but I wouldn't stop. Suddenly I saw a blast of fire shoot out, very close to my face. I quickly jumped back, and tripped on my lagging tail and fell down. The fire was overpowering, and my tail hanged just below it, and I felt my ragged tail being roasted. Finally it stopped after about a few seconds, but it felt so long. Then I startingly remembered what happened when fire and flammable gas meets; explosions.

A line of blasts came from where the flamethrower appeared, from my right. I couldn't help but flinch, unable to move. The explosion blasted my ears and made me partly deaf for a second when I was blown back. I fell hard on my damaged tail, and immediately it burned like hot summer asphalt. I jumped up like I just sat on a cactus, so I checked out my worn out tail, and it was scorched. I wasn't on fire or had a burnt status; I just had a rough burnt mark. I didn't know if it was from the flamethrower cooking my tail alive or the super blast caused from the smoke, or it could have been both, but it was powerful.

I could hardly move from the blast. I saw more beams of fire, and seconds later soon I saw pillars of fire too, fire spin. Then I saw a beam of ice. What in the world could be causing fire _**AND**_ ice? I didn't want to find out, so I made a run for it. I picked up my lagging tail, all slashed, broken, burnt, and bruised, and began to carry it; so I wouldn't keep tripping the whole time. I ran back the way I came, but I didn't find the honey that the kids were stuck in. I kept dashing away, searching for the little creatures. I could feel my deficient arm bleed out more while I ran in the somber fog, and a hoarse cough broke out, making my neck sore. Then, while my hacking cough was settling down, I finally ran out of the smoke. It was clearing up, and I saw the kids, coughing and still in the honey, but the smoke cloud was so small now that it wasn't surrounding them anymore. Beams of fire and ice shot out of the smoke that still remained, and soon explosions had followed.

Suddenly and unexpectedly, a huge blast of ice shot out of the small amount of murky, foul smoke. It shot straight toward Zeke and Emily. For some reason, I was majorly worried. That feeling was happening all day, but I didn't know why. I didn't feel like I even liked Zeke, and I didn't think I would admire a stranger, but I had this revolting urge to protect them. I dashed over to them, accidently dropping my marred tail, and ignoring the pain, I ran on. I was almost there, and everything was in slow motion to me. I jumped, feeling my sore feet, damaged arm, and injured tail ache and cry out in pain, and then I fell. I lifted my head off the ground, and I found out I was too late; there was no use in jumping. I was being delusional; probably because of all the blood I lost and all the damage I felt. I was still about ten yards away, and the ice beam had hit them.

I limped over to the kids, feeling sorrowful. When I was about a few feet away, I came across some divine news. Zeke and Emily were on the edges of the honey glob, so when the ice beam shot out, it just froze the honey, and didn't even hurt a scale, well except for the poor combee that were stuck in the honey from my trap earlier, they were frozen along with the golden blob of honey. I limped towards them once more, and I felt the smooth, cold surface of the ice.

"_S-S-Shadow, get me o-o-out!"_ Zeke demanded, probably now starting to get a cold or something.

The wounds that I had on my tail and arm were now too severe. I collapsed to the ground, still awake, but unable to move. I shivered in my state, and tried to crawl close to the honey, but my only working arm was weak from shadow claw attacks. I remained about a yard away from the kids, shaking wide in the open and I knew that when the smoke cleared up, I was a goner, and so were the kids.

The smokescreen from a stranger Pokémon in this battle finally cleared up, and what I saw was astonishing. The ground used to be a fine forest green grass with some patches of green and yellow moss, but now piles of grass had been torn out of the ground, most of it scorched and part of the grass frozen in ice, and dark colored dirt is what you mostly saw in the middle of the field. The combee and Vespiquen were bruised and burnt, and most of them were frozen in pillars of ice. Many trees had fallen to the ground, and most seemed to be covered in burnt marks. Tiny embers on the ground were too small to spread to any plant life to start a forest fire, and they went out quickly. The scene was truly gruesome.

I saw one stranger face and one familiar one. The stranger had the appearance of a canine dog, with orange and black zigzag stripes on his fur coat. His tail was a bushy white, and had the same kind of fur surrounding his paws, head, and chest. His grin had two sharp teeth sticking out and it kind of looked like he had a mask made out of fur, and I had no idea what kind of Pokémon it was.

The familiar face was a creature like a blue horse with ribbons as a tail and a purple cape. It had diamond blotches along its blue body and I could recognize this creature anywhere, it was Rainbow, the Pokémon that rescued me from being captured... again, by those scientists in Sandgem town.

"Snivy, is that you?" I heard Rainbow ask. I wish I could quickly hide behind Zeke and Emily and that honey trap, but I couldn't move. I didn't want to say that I broke my tail again after what happened last time when she visited, it would just be plain embarrassing.

"Who's Snivy? My name is Zeke, and he's Shadow," Zeke squealed. I wanted to slap him, but again, I was stuck on the ground.

"What, Shadow is your name now, I thought you said that you were shy and it didn't really match your style," she questioned, making me nervous.

I stayed silent for a while in the awkward state. "Um… no, I changed it…" I managed to say in a hoarse voice, and I coughed after I said it.

"Why?" she asked immediately, making me start to sweat. I knew that she was pretty much my only friend, and if I said about what happened in the forest, and the reason why my tail was broken a long time ago, I might lose her as a friend, and she might have not and tried to help me, and sometimes even the darkest of Pokémon and people need at least some company.

I didn't want to answer her question. I bit my tongue to take in a little more pain. I wanted to faint so I would be healed before I had to tell her, but it wasn't enough. Curse my strong stamina!

"I… uh… I'll tell you why, but first, *cough* I can't tell you with my voice like this, I need to be healed first." I pretended to cough in the middle of my sentence to make it seem more believable.

"Oh you poor thing, you seem to be as hurt as the time before when I came to fix your tail, and look at that, it is broken again." I pretended to cough after she stopped talking, and she pranced off out of my vision, letting me think she went to find some berries of something.

I started to think about what moves they were using in that smokescreen. I saw a flamethrower, so it must have been from the canine dog thing. I knew it had to be from him because from the last time I saw Rainbow, her four moves were aurora beam, blizzard, hydro pump, and somehow ice beam. Suicune's normally don't learn the move ice beam as they level up, so she must have used a TM by accident somehow, or since she was once a test subject in Sandgem town as I was, she could have been given the power from the scientists.

I wanted to talk to Emily; she seemed to come out of nowhere and is really mysterious. She didn't leave earlier when she had the chance, but I couldn't ask her why. That dog thing didn't leave with Rainbow, so he was staring at everything: Emily, Zeke, and the frozen combee in the honey. It was disturbing, but I didn't want to talk to it, than I would have to start a conversation with it, and I didn't want to talk to whatever it was till I knew what it was. I was glad that my eyelids were heavy, so I didn't have to stare at the big dog as much. Finally, breaking the silence, Rainbow pranced back in dragging a big leaf with her. On top of it was an assortment of berries and long leaves.

**2 hours later…**

I sat up with a full stomach in front of the buffet Rainbow and Hunter. Now knowing that Hunter was an arcanine, I felt much more reassured to talk to him. Finally fully healed and fully fed, and happy that Rainbow forgot about wanting to ask me about why I changed my name.

"_I miss Emily…" _Zeke said, depressed and poking at his Oran berry.

"I know you miss her, but she had to get back to her combee hive in Floroma town, and you know that is what is best for her," I explained once more, knowing that as a kid, it was hard to say goodbye to someone. I remembered that the only reason Emily stayed around was to have us help her to get home. Finally now that we were fully healed, it was time to head on the road. I knew I didn't have to explain again why we were leaving in the first place to Rainbow, since I know that she will remember that I need to get back to where I belonged.

"Come on Zeke, it's time to go," I told him, and he grabbed the berry and took a huge bite, than he scurried to my side.

"Okay, thanks again Rainbow, and especially for fixing my tail… again," I thanked, checking my tail that was wrapped up in leaves like a cast. Then I was about to gather up the bag of berries that I collected yesterday, and found it missing.

"Uh, Zeke, do you know what happened to the berries and other stuff we gathered yesterday," I questioned, looking in his direction. He seemed to be startled when I asked him, and immediately he nodded, and answered slowly,

"_A few combees took it in the battle."_ I sighed in fustration, than knew that if we stayed another day, we would for sure miss the plane.

"It's okay, let's go." We both got up and started walking toward the direction that Rainbow and Hunter told us to go so we could get to the city. When Rainbow and Hunter were almost out of sight, I turned around, waved and said,

"Thank you for the help, and that was one impressive smokescreen attack Hunter!"

"What smokescreen attack, I thought that was from you!" Hunter yelled back, making me puzzled. Who had made that smokescreen? I thought that a fire type like arcanine could use it, but I guess I was wrong. I would have turned around and talk it out, but I had no time to waste, so I kept walking with Zeke, finally continuing our adventure. I still felt like I should have gone back to talk about that smokescreen mystery, but I knew it didn't really matter. We were safe, and that was all that matters.


	4. Captured

**Shadow's POV**

We had ventured far through the forest, and Rainbow had never let me down before, and it hadn't just started. We made it to Eterna city, all in one piece. I saw the streets filled with people on these strange two wheeled machines. There were even weirder machines that were on four wheels, and they zoomed fast down the streets. It would have been too hard to cross, so I thought it over.

"Hey Zeke, you want to take a break?" I asked. He was sweating, and then he nodded, too tired to say his answer.

We looked for a good place to hide, but before that, we decided to find something to eat. There were berry bushes alongside some buildings, and some delightful smells came from the dumpster, but the dumpster thing was a revolting thought. Luckily, the entrance we came in from was right next to an abandoned building, and right along the sides of it was berry bushes, and they all seemed to be ripe and ready for picking! Even better, along every edge of the streets at least every few yards was an apple tree!

I assigned Zeke to pick some berries while I went up into the trees and picked out some juicy apples. I tried my best to climb up the tall trees and along each branch were the best apples I have ever seen. They must have been like that since they were being taken care of by humans, but the ones in the forest grew naturally, so they weren't as good. I gathered up two juicy apples from the trees and attempted to climb down, but lost my footing at the very first step and fell down to the rigid yet delicate ground floor and I was forced to let go of the apples in mid-fall. Opening my eyes I saw that the apples weren't bruised from the impact, and I scooped them back up and carried them over to Zeke. I couldn't believe that I was actually ordering around that baby, but maybe it would have been easier that way.

We would leave any extra food wherever we decided to eat them at, and we walked toward the berry bushes, and I saw that one of them was hollow on the inside. The interior had a small space that could let me and Zeke crawl inside, so it was an ideal spot.

Zeke was about to crawl in first, but I shoved him aside. If I was going to let him tag along, I had to show him dominance. I had to be the leader, which meant that I would have to go first on everything and he had to follow my orders. I dropped onto my firm elbows and inched my way forward through the entrance with the delicious looking apples. The floor was surprisingly stiff and the room seemed to be oddly familiar, but it was probably nothing. I beckoned at him to enter, and so he did with the Oran berries in his grasp. We both placed the food down, getting ready to enjoy the buffet. If I needed to be able to travel all across two regions, I couldn't do it with my appetite tearing my insides apart. I was about to take a bite out of one of the bluish Oran berries, but than a deafening noise buzzed out of nowhere.

Metal bars clamped down all around us, and I knew something was definitely wrong. I knew what this was and why it was so familiar to me. It was a trap, and it wasn't a Pokémon trap, I knew that it was the Deluxe Pokémon Capture Mechanism, or that is what the scientists called it. On top of the stainless steel cage was a red siren that flashed with that annoying buzzing sound that made scientists and other people aware of a Pokémon being captured inside this torture box, and I knew that because as a kid, my parents somehow recognized it and pushed me in. Those stupid Pokémon didn't even care about me, just for my color! I let the silver glow reflect off my rocklike tail, and I ran up to the cage bars and thwacked it, hard. I felt immediate pain in my tail that was still wrapped around with the leaf cast.

Damn, I can't believe I forgot about the injury I only had about two to three hours ago. I was flung back to the other side of the small cage, and my head got slammed on the impenetrable steel bars, making me see stars for a second.

I wouldn't give up, not with Zeke in danger again. I powered up my shadow claw on my good arm and ran toward the bars again, and slashed the bars with my dusk stained claws. I struck it with a lot of power, but I didn't even make a dent. This cage must have been made out of some material besides steel that made it impossible to break from the inside. Suddenly, I felt the earth shake and the cage was ripped out of the bush. I saw some dude with cool sunglasses, a lab coat, green rubber gloves, and a mask that covered his mouth and nose; all the classic things that scientists wear, well, besides the sunglasses, I didn't expect that.

I saw him reach into his ragged, white coat and pulled out a rusty old key. He reached it above the padlock to the buzzer and I heard a click, and that stupid siren finally stopped. I didn't think he used the key for the siren, because it sounded more like a button was pushed, or he turned a knob, but definitely not a key. He then reached toward the dangling padlock with the key and pushed it in and turned it, making not a click, but a clank noise. The lock had fallen off and dropped to the ground, and the scientist made that sound when you are annoyed, and it sounds like 'Ugh'.

The scientist had bended over to pick up the metallic lock, and we were in only one of his grubby hands and the lock was about to be in the other hand. This was a splendid opportunity to make a break for it, so I stepped back as remote from the cage door as possible, and ran straight into the where the padlock once sealed, and I head-butted my way out. I flew out of the bar prison, and was even able to make the dangerous man lose his balance and he toppled over, sending the cage flying, with Zeke along with it.

I can't believe I just forgot about Zeke! I ran out of the way, and where I was a few seconds ago was where the cage had landed with a thud. I ran up to the cage with that worried feeling again, when I felt some huge rubber thing clench onto my whole body and lift me off the ground.

I struggled to get out of the human's rubber coated hand that helped protect the guy from germs. I may have been able to protect him from germs, but I don't think rubber gloves protect you from bites…

I bit his hand, but since it wasn't a move, and I didn't have sharp teeth, I secretly powered up my shadow claw and jammed it into his hand in the middle of my bite to make it seem that I had sharp teeth, to make him more intimidated. I heard him wail in pain and instantly drop me and inspected the jab mark; soon going to figure out that it wasn't my teeth that will make his hand need surgery. I dashed over to Zeke, and then another pair of rubber, green gloves picked up Zeke and the cage.

The scientist looked just like the other one that I injured, but he had a satchel hanging from around his shoulder and he looked menacing. He cunningly grabbed a weird kind of Poké ball out of the satchel that these humans called a Luxury ball. It is said to be really hard to escape if they use it to catch a Pokémon.

A Luxury ball got its name from the deluxe plush cushions that were delicately placed in. It is appealing to girls because they say that it is fashionable on the go and it helps a Pokémon become friendlier to its master, but I think that is just a bowl of lies. It couldn't be that comfortable, right?

He chucked the ball at an alarming rate straight at me, and it almost hit me in my right eye, but good thing that the ball opened and the red beam of light shimmered on me before I had it. I felt my whole body squeeze, and get sucked into the ball, and the Luxury ball snapped shut and dropped to the ground, and when I lay down on those deluxe cushions, I knew that the rumors were true.

Distracted from what I thought was a myth was actually true, the ball wobbled once. Scared that I could be caught, I prepared my shadow claw with my good arm and punched the delicate machinery, but my move had failed, and my arm just weakly punched the glass. The ball wobbled again, but I wouldn't stop trying. My arm throbbed, so I tried my leaf tornado, hoping that it would at least make a crack somewhere. I spun around, and I knew that this had to work, but when I stopped spinning, I didn't see a tornado of leaves, I just watched one little leaf gently float to the black pillow that I stood on. Three wobbles attracted my attention, and I knew that somehow a Poké ball made you unable to use moves from the inside. I knew that it was my last chance, and I had only a few seconds, so I backed up as far as I could in the Luxury ball, just as I did in the cage, and dashed forward with all my might in the small container, and head-butted the area where the button had stood. I felt a harsh pain going to my head, and immediately I retreated to the back of the small container, and then I heard a click. I starred through the Luxury ball, and I was barely able to make out a smirk grin on the cunning scientist's face, and I knew that he had captured me.

My eyes were wide in terror as I watched ever so slightly Zeke jump out of the cage and he ran for his life. Unfortunately, the scientist threw an Ultra ball at Zeke, a Poké ball that is spoken to be stronger than Poké balls and Great balls. Zeke was stunned with fear as soon as the weird Poké ball was thrown and made that swoosh sound. The ball did the same thing that it did to me and a red beam of luminous light glistened down on him, and it sucked him in. The dull glass used for the Luxury ball I was in was murky, so I couldn't see Zeke inside his Poké ball. All I saw was it wobbling three times, and then a faint click noise and he was caught and helpless like I was.

The scientists walked toward me and picked me up, and his pale, scrawny finger pressed the button on the front of the Luxury ball, and I felt my body get squished once again, and I felt the ball shrink even more. I could no longer see out of the Poké ball, and it started to feel like I was barricaded in a fine suite of a luxury hotel.

I paced back and forth in the deluxe suite that those revolting two leggers called a Luxury ball. I had never been caught before, so I had begun to panic. I felt some sweat inch its way down my neck and I knew that this couldn't be happening. I wasn't caught; it had to be a dream, no wait, it was a nightmare. I knew that I had to wake up from this horrid nightmare soon enough. I thought about it for a minute, and pinched my good arm that wasn't wrapped up in a cast, and felt a small ounce of pain. It was real, and I had started to panic once more.

What would I have done to get out? I already tried to head-butt my way out, but all that did was giving me a surprising shock from the mechanical instruments used to make this holding cell. Then a sliver of lightning had struck my brain and gave me an idea just like the small parcel of electricity had already done that. As soon as whoever had let me out of this prison, I would break my Luxury ball and run right out the front door!

I knew I had to wait in this prison, so I let my grass snake body slowly fall backward and land on the flimsy surface. It was so comfortable, and relaxing. My eyes settled down and my whole face expression changed. This was beyond a softness that I had ever touched before. Back at my log cabin in Eterna Forest, I lay down on a towel, and that didn't help much. Compared to this velvet bed, that towel on the floor had been unyielding. I thought beastly facts about the flawed towel that I used to call a bed, and thought ravishing things about the unblemished Luxury ball. I imagined staying with whoever owned me, and never having a tarnished dream or an uncomfortable sleep ever again, and being taken care of… NO! I shouldn't have thought about stuff like that! Who knows what they would do after I came out of this misleading place. I could be transferred to an uncomfortable Poké ball, or be forced to work all night, or I might never sleep again due to the warped experiments that they will test on me!

On the other hand, maybe I had misjudged these people. Maybe that the people who had captured me as a kid were evil, and these scientists who captured me today were good hearted. They will take care of me no matter what if I'm tested or not. I will be comforted all the way, and… NO! The rumors about the friendship going up in this prison, it wasn't wrong! I was being brainwashed, and maybe Zeke could have been corrupted by it now since he didn't go through those horrible things I went through. I had to remain strong and fight this urge to stay. People had to be evil, and there was no doubt about it! I knew if I stayed up the whole time, I knew that I would soon be corrupted with ghastly thoughts, so I curled up into a little ball, and drifted off into a light slumber, but then for a second, I felt a sharp shock of lightning before drifting off.

_SHADOW'S DREAM…_

I was in a white room, with a vanilla colored tile floor and eggshell paint on the wall. It was some sort of lab, but instead of me being frustrated and frightened, I was joyful and excited! It was a disturbing feeling, but I couldn't help it. I saw some girl with light brown hair, a decretive lab coat, and a welcoming smile. The girl was about twenty, possibly thirty years old, and she seemed to be nice. She held out a bowl with some pancakes made out of pancake batter and Oran berries, and she placed it on the floor, I dashed toward the delightful dish, and munched down excitingly.

_END OF DREAM…_

I jumped up, frightened at the disgusting dream I had. I could tell that the girl was a professor or a scientist, but some reason I was drawn to the girl. She seemed so nice and good hearted, so I thought that maybe some people weren't so bad after all. My reptilian skin was blistering and damp with sweat. How long did I sleep for? The experience was comforting, but could after all these years, the one main fact that I had known was a lie. Wait, I thought I would have no nightmares in that ball, so either I was wrong, or that it wasn't a nightmare! I knew that no matter what, I don't think I would have a nightmare, but it isn't like I could control my dreams. I didn't want to be wrong again, and there was no horrid thing to say about it, and all the facts fitted together, humans were nice, so that must have meant that where ever I was going would be a good place, so I thought about it, and decided to stay with the scientists!

I was exhausted, and even though it was a dream, it was seriously intense. I curled back up in different spot of the Luxury ball, and snoozed off, but into a deep sleep that time.

_**About four hours later…**_

I woke up when I heard some person shout four words: "Come on out Dusk!" I snapped awake, and was able to see partially through the somber glass, and I knew they enlarged the Luxury ball. I looked outside, and everything had started to spin and was a confusing blur, and then I saw the ball open, and I closed my eyes, unaware of what was happening. I felt that dizzy feeling in my head settle, and everything seemed to go back to normal, so I carefully opened my eyes, and saw I was on a tile floor. When my brain started to function again, I realized I was just called Dusk. It was my new nickname, and even though I preferred to be called Shadow, what could I do? Talk to someone and ask them to change my name, yeah right.

I saw that I was in a room that looked mostly white besides another room that was about a yard or two away from me. I stood in the white room, but I saw a pair of sandals and a big set of legs on the green carpet floor in the other room. I looked up, and saw scientist, or a professor with light brown hair, wait, it was that nice girl from my dream! She had that same welcoming smile and that decretive lab coat, and I was astonished! My dream had somehow showed me the future, but how was that possible? It could have been some crazy coincidence, but there was no other explanation. That was the first time it ever happened, and probably the last time also. I ignored the thought, and started to greet the human, unsure of what could happen.

I took a step forward, and then slowly her hand reached out in front of my pointy nose. I didn't know what the human wanted me to do, so I reached my hand out, and grabbed hers. She shook my tiny hand, and I remembered that humans called that a handshake, but why did she expect me to know what it was? I ignored this question when I heard her do a gleeful chuckle.

"What a smart Pokémon you are Dusk, welcome to your new home, back in the Unova region," she complimented in a calm and gentle voice. Wait a minute; did she just say the Unova region?! If that claim was true, how was that possible, the next flight for the Unova region wasn't for another five or six days?

I heard a ringing noise from her wristwatch. I jumped back in surprise, but settled back down when I realized it was just some alarm that alerted the human. She moved the wristwatch close to her face and pushed a small green button, and I heard some other person say,

"Hey Jupiter, how's it going with Dusk?" I found out that he was talking to the human, and that the thing the noise came out of wasn't a wristwatch, but some kind of communication device. I also found out that the human with that device was called Jupiter.

"Just fine, thank you Roger for finding this poor critter, this is an extraordinary finding," she replied back into the cellular device, informing me the person on the other line was named Roger, and that he was the one who probably helped to capture me and Zeke. Thinking of which, where was he? I looked around the room, but Zeke was nowhere in sight. First, I listened to the conversation because it could answer my two questions.

"I know right, well we wouldn't be able to bring those snivys back to where they belong if it wasn't for Alejandro, he saved the day."

"Well tell him thanks for me next time you run by him for me."

"I will, also be careful with Dusk, he is a bit feisty. When I picked him up, he bit me." I snickered; still hardly believing he didn't figure out it wasn't a bite yet.

"How is that possible, some of my old research proved that a snivy bite can't break skin till they evolve?"

"Well how do you explain this?" I presumed that he just showed Juniper his hand and it was probably wrapped up in bandages, or he was showing her the mark.

"Well I don't know how to explain that, but come over in that helicopter some time."

"Well first I need to get it more fuel because after I took you from one region to the other, it totally was drained." I found the answer to my first question about how I was over here.

"Well if you are still in this region, you can walk or bicycle over."

"Yeah, I'm still in this region because I have no fuel, but I would have to walk because I'm pretty sure that if I ride a bike, I will fall the whole time with this damaged hand."

"Well I'm expecting you soon, and if you need help getting over, I'll send a friend over to help you."

"Thanks Juniper, how's Shadow going?" I was confused at whom Shadow was, and that was weird since that was my real name but not my nickname, so I listened intently.

"He's great, he is so small and cute, so that snivy is possibly a new born; good thing you found him." Were they talking about Zeke?

"I figured that out too, take good care of him."

"I will, snivys like this are rare and priceless, and good thing we got them before experimenters or poachers got to them first." She was wrong about the experimenters, they already got to me and gave me two great moves, and I found out that Shadow was Zeke's new nickname. I was enraged that it wasn't me, but with great self-control, I was able to ease down my anger, and suppressed those feelings.

"Talk to you later Roger."

"See you later Juniper." I heard a static noise, and then she put her arm back down and started to focus on me again.

"Sorry for the wait Dusk, come with me to the field out back while we perform a test or two," she said in a soothing voice, but the word 'test' made kind of freak out, and I could tell she saw me shivering.

"Oh don't worry, we are just going to watch you battle, and maybe one more test like that," she eased, making me relax. I walked into that carpeted room, and saw a sliding door that was made out of glass so I could see outside. There was a battlefield for Pokémon battles, and it had chalk surrounding the dirt square. The chalk displayed a fainted Poké ball in the middle, so it marked the main place of fighting. I saw four kennel cages, and something was inside each of them, but they were on the other side of the field, so I couldn't tell what. There was a big fence surrounding the battle field with some extra room, like for the cages and scientists and stuff like that. In two corners of the fence in the very back, two huge oak trees stood.

She slid the glass door to the right to reveal that on the other side, it showed a door made out of string, and I believe humans call it a screen door and it is told to be able to keep the annoying little bugs out, and I mean bugs, not bug types. She moved that screen thing to the side as well, and she walked out to the cages, and she beckoned me to come follow her. I slowly walked out to the battlefield and stood to on the right side. Three scientists came out that looked just like the ones that captured me and Zeke, but instead of rubber gloves, they had leather ones. The leather gloves were thick and worn down, like something or someone had been chewing or scratching them a lot. They were holding clipboards and pens, probably going to notes with them. I still stood on my side of the battlefield, waiting for a command.

One of the scientists settled his clipboard down, and walked up to one of the cages and stood next to it, waiting for something. I squinted to see what was in the cage, and saw something edging its way to the back of the kennel cage. Suddenly, a feral blue monkey pounced at the steel grate that separated it from outside. His eyes were bloodshot instead of squinted so it looked like he didn't get much sleep last night. If Juniper didn't torture that angry ape, then who did? He retreated back into the shadows of the crate, hiding himself, waiting for a chance to escape.

"Now Dusk, this is a test that will determine how strong you are," Juniper started. "You will battle three Pokémon, Panpour, Pansage, and Pansear. They are each at the same level and all have an aggressive nature. We just found them last night, but it seems they have been tortured by someone. I need you to help us rally them down my making them wear down or faint so they can get a good night rest. We tried giving them a sedate that would make them fall asleep from a shot, but they are too aggressive right now." Seeing that it wasn't Juniper's fault for them being tortured, I developed trust in her, and took her word for it.

"Now," she continued. "With all important or big Pokémon tournaments, usually there is a prize. For this specific Pokémon battle, I will grant you prizes. I think you have a little friend here. We nicknamed him Shadow, but I don't know if it is okay for you to hang out with him, so I thought you should earn it." When she started to talk about who I think is Zeke, this battle thing was starting to get interesting.

"Now here are the prizes. Each Pokémon you defeat grants you a bigger prize, so if you defeat none of these three, you won't be able to hang out with your friend. Later you will have another chance to earn that right again. If you defeat only one, you can hang out with him, but rarely; like only during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If you defeat two, you can hang out with him more often, like when you eat your main meals and an hour every other day. If you defeat all three, you will spend as much time with him as you want, and I can tell by the sparkle in your eye that is what you want the most." I didn't want to spend a lot of time with him, but I wanted to be able to protect Zeke. Zeke was at a young age, but that urge that makes me want to be near him and protect him, I had no idea what was causing that, but I knew one thing, and it is I had no way of knowing how to turn it off.

"Now get ready Dusk, and in the fourth Poké kennel has Shadow in it, and you know the deal, so when this scientist releases the Panpour from its cage, the battle will began. And remember, if one of the Pokémon tries to run off, you have to stop it, or else that counts as you losing." I took a gulp of saliva, and concentrated on the scientist that was about to unlock the first kennel with the blue monkey, also known as a panpour. He twisted a weird knob and pulled the metal crate door back. A pair of red eyes illuminated through the shadows of the kennel, and then the vicious primate jumped out in a fit of rage. His blood stained eyes made him even more intimidating, and he gave me a menacing glare. I took a step back, a little freaked out at the moment, but I didn't back down. That terrible urge was tearing at the inside of my stomach. If only I could turn it off with the press of a button…


	5. Power-Napped

**Shadow's POV**

The primate had his focus on me, ready to maul me to death, I quickly looked at Juniper, and she looked worried. I could tell that she was about to call the test off, but when I saw her about to say that sentence, Panpour charged at me. His mouth opened and sharp canine fangs grew its way into his mouth. He ran with an angry ape battle cry, than pounced, letting his anger get the best of him. I used my tail as a spring, and fired myself in the air. Panpour tried to stop, but he ended up throwing himself at a tree. He fortunately dodged it, but then that gave me an idea.

I managed to catch onto a branch of a tree when I started to fall back down, but then I realized something; my tail didn't throb that time when I used it. I let go of the branch and felled completely down, not damaged at all. I checked my tail, and I took off the cast that barely managed to stay on. My tail was as good as new from all that rest in the Luxury ball, so it must have finally finished healing. I then remembered about my left arm and how it was bitten. I took the cast around my arm off and it came off very easily just like it did for my tail. My arm was fully healed as well, and I was pleased.

I heard a weird bubbly sound, and worried, I dropped to the ground. I quickly looked up, still laying down on the ground, and saw a stream of frigid water that I was barely able to dodge. Angered, I stood back up, and circled around and around until the leaf tornado grew at a rapid rate. When the leaf tornado started to move, Panpour did the weirdest and most idiotic thing I have ever seen. He ran straight for my tornado, and jumped right in with his claws extended, trying to scratch it. This Pokémon wasn't really bright from his anger, and he attacked the tornado, but effortlessly was sucked in and swiveled around, than a big mistake from that move made me regret forgetting about my earlier plan. Two other cages were sucked into the tornado, but Juniper quickly was able to grab on to one of them. I hoped it was Zeke's cage that wasn't sucked in because I didn't want any help or for him to be hurt. The tornado had finally settled down and shriveled into dust, and then two cages, Panpour, and a bunch of leaves and twigs collapsed to the ground. A big mess lied in front of me, and I saw that the two kennels' crate doors were broken and bent, leaving a small space in the bars, but it seemed big enough for either Zeke or one of those monkeys to crawl out of.

Out of one cage, a green monkey with a bush on his head and he looked like he had green pants and a seed on the edge of his tail. He had big ears and bloodshot eyes just like the water monkey. Out of the other one crawled out of his kennel and another monkey that looked like he had a big ember on his head and a small one on the tip of his tail. He had red pants, big ears, and also had bloodshot eyes, but he looked the worst out of them all. I slowly backed up as the three enraged monkeys had slowly edged their way closer to me, preparing to attack. I thought for sure that the leaf tornado would vanquish Panpour, but I stood corrected. I kept backing up until I felt the rough bark of a large tree trunk that was surrounded by a fence, and I knew I was cornered. There was no way to escape, and I knew I was done for.

Foot by foot, inch by inch, centimeter by centimeter, they edged closer, and then they all lunged at me with a bite attack and their sharp fangs intimidated me. Then I started remembering my plan, and put it into motion!

"Come on angry monkeys, give me what you got!" I taunted before I used my tail to spring up once again. I grabbed onto another tree branch, dangling, but able to hold on, and they all collided below me and bit each other, well, besides Panpour. He collapsed from that wound I gave him earlier; the pain finally caught up with him and he fainted. The other two collapsed, but they weren't done yet, so I quickly prepared a shadow claw on both of my arms, and jumped down, smacking them hard on their heads and I could tell that I did a critical hit on Pansage when I heard that weak cracking sound from his side. I jumped back up, did a flip, and landed gracefully behind them, back in the battlefield again. Pansear and Pansage were more determined than I thought, and they both slowly rose and had their shriveled eyes swollen and their hands tightly clenched into a hard fist. I beckoned at them, and they each ran up to me and tried to use scratch, but I used cross poison when they weren't distant, and they were thrown back, and Pansage was poisoned. I gave them an evil smirk, and Pansage and Pansear refused to give in.

Pansage was shivering, and I gave him a deep growl, and I saw in his eyes wasn't filled with just anger or his tiring redness, but I saw a disturbing fear wash up in his eye, pleading for mercy. I was confused that the Pansage was scared, and he collapsed to the ground, motionless. I hoped he was just passed out from exhaustion, but I knew I couldn't turn my back and check or else I would get hurt by Pansear.

The fire monkey screamed his war cry and ran up to me, about to bite me with his fangs once more. I tried to duck and roll to the right then counter with my iron tail, but I felt a rigorous pain in my arm, and was paralyzed for a second. I had pulled something in my arm and was stunned. Pansear pierced my skin with his brutal attack, and I cried out a desperate squeal, but that ruthless monkey wouldn't stop. He kept his fangs snapped in my shoulder blade, and I fell to the ground. I was stuck in my state, and even worse, Pansear shook my body like I was a chew toy and tore my weak skin. I couldn't attack, I couldn't defend, and I was stuck there, vulnerable.

I felt the scorching pain tear my flesh and yank me around. I wanted to attack but I couldn't move. I tried my best to power up an iron tail, but I couldn't even lift my tail the slightest. Finally he let go, but he did it by chucking me in the air. I was falling down, and I saw a ball of flames being powered up in his mouth, and I knew he was about to end me by doing so with my worst fear; fire. He was about to burn me alive, and roast me to death. I saw the igneous fireball almost fully prepared into his flame burst, but then I saw something. It was too fast for me to see it, but something zoomed by and stuck Pansear with something. I fell to the ground with a thud, feeling like that fireball scorched my shoulder.

I felt the very urge of fainting right then and there. I wanted the pain to stop, and I would just let go and faint and all that torture would come to a halt. Why do I have to be so weak around fire and bug types? Why wouldn't I become stronger? Why was I always stuck at my current weakness? Why does fate have to torture me so? Why did the blazing ape have to rip my arm out of its socket and crack my shoulder blade?

I felt the irresistible urge to close my eyes. My eyelids grew heavy once more, and felt myself about to drift off, when I saw something. I saw total darkness followed by a streak of lightning zooming through the empty room of darkness. A burst of blinding light exploded through the room, and I saw a Pokémon.

The Pokémon was purple and cat-like. It had a devious look on its face, and looked so innocent, but if you looked closely, you could tell it was guilty of something. I then saw the three monkeys, scared out of their mind. The purple cat held a glass needle in its fluffy paws which held some kind of liquid that was the same color as the creature's fur, and I heard a weird, maniacal laugh. I saw the cat drop the needle and its claws grew. It ran up to the flinching monkeys and slit their throats. The cut was shallow so they were still breathing, but they were unconscious. The evil Pokémon went back to its earlier position and picked up the needle, and then it walked to one of the monkeys and injected it. She only used about a third of the purple liquid, then used another third on the other one. She than emptied the rest into the veins of the red monkey, and then the cat ran away…

I saw the bright light turn back into the dark room with the stroke of lightning, and the lightning disappeared and my eyes opened in terror. It was like the thing that happened before I saw the cat was in reverse, and slowly I came back into conscious. I was still in pain, and I felt my wound roasting with the blazing pain of fire. My eyelids were heavy again and I couldn't think with the pain. I had fallen back into a deep sleep, unable to get back up.

**Zeke's POV**

As I saw the Juniper hold onto my cage, horrified, I watched Shadow being tossed around like a mongoose at a cobra convention. I saw that his arm was dislodged and he was about to be finished off when I saw a blur of blue and red knock that rotten monkey where he deserves it. The monkey fell to the ground, shivering, than all together it stopped. The fire type of undetermined species for me was somehow sliced on his neck which must have caused him to faint. I felt my cage get jerked around for a second, and then I saw the Professor run toward Shadow, or who I found out she called Dusk. She picked him up lightly, than screamed something, but she was too far for my ears to hear. I saw several scientists rush to the scene, and they all picked up one of the Pokémon, like Shadow and the monkeys. The agile blur of color hadn't showed up again, and I couldn't help wondering who it was, why it did it, and why it didn't come back…

**Shadow's POV**

My eyes were weary and my shoulder had the worst feeling of numbness and pain. I was lying down in some snug environment. I sat up, trying my hardest to ignore the pain in my right shoulder blade, but the sharp burning pain forced me to sit back down. I felt dizzy once more and fell back into an unconscious state.

**Many hours later…**

My eyes had reopened and I was still lying on what felt like a heaven of feathers. The pain in my arm has weakened to the point of no pain. I tried to sit up once more worried that I would blackout again, but I was just fine. My arm had a little pinch of pain, and was really stiff, but was intact. I was in my Luxury ball, and since I couldn't see anything out of the ball, it must have been shrunken. I checked my arm revealing a white wrapping around it that was similar to my leaf cast, but seemed stiffer and stronger than leaves. It was like it was sturdy as a board, and I tried to pull it off. I attempted to rip it off, but unlike a leaf case, it was stuck on and barely moved. I twisting pain was scorching my skin, and I fell back down to the black cushions placed in my ball.

I studied it for a while and I figured out that my arm was still broken, but what I found out is like a white human cast helped keep any major pain from stinging my shoulder while it heals. I carefully lay down on the flexible cushions, and closed my eyes and started to think about what happened. Why didn't Juniper help me in the battle? What was that blurry figure that managed to rescue me? What was that vision I saw before I passed out? Will I be able to see Zeke? Did that last battle count as a win or lose on my end?

I heard a click and saw the surrounding things all around me. A hand was holding my Luxury ball, and I got ready to be thrown out. Forgetting about the many questions that flowed through my mind, I heard another click, and I was instantly thrown out of my ball with the command of, "Dusk, come on out!"

I appeared on a purple couch in that carpeted room. To my right was a nightstand with a lamp on top, a gray, mouse-like Pokémon sleeping in a corner and that sliding door that lead to the battlefield where all the dramatic things happened a while ago. To my left was floral wallpaper, a corner of the wall, and sitting right next to me on the couch was Zeke. Overjoyed, I wanted to hug him, but stopped before I reached my arms out to him, trying to make it seem like it didn't matter that I saw him. That retarded, ridiculous urge, why would it never go away?

"Now Dusk," I heard a familiar started. I looked forward to see Juniper. "Now since you had the under hand of three against one at the same time, I decided that since you defeated two out of three, a little rough I may add, you can spend as much time with Shadow whenever and wherever." I was happy, but not impressed. I was outraged with myself. Again when it really mattered, something had popped out of nowhere and saved me. When will I be able to take care of myself on this little adventure?

"That was also amazing Dusk, how you were able to use cross poison and shadow claw, and what a mystery!" she told excitingly and anticipated. I forgot about having to use those moves during battle, and I was lucky that these guys wouldn't try to find out what caused it.

"Oh look at that, it's already dark outside," she blurted out. I stared out of the see-through door, and I forgot that when I looked through it earlier, there were stars of different sizes splattered through the dark void of space. The sunlight didn't show at all and a radiant glow came from a half-moon that was starting to hover above the mountains; slowly traveling on its adventure to cross the night sky.

"I wonder what time it is, but since it isn't daylight savings time, and it is the beginning of autumn, I think it's time to return you guys to your Luxury balls." She grabbed two tiny balls, and pressed the buttons on them, making them grow in size to the size of a huge ball of yarn.

"Sorry Dusk, I know you have been barricaded in your ball about all day, but one of my few rules of this lab is that all Pokémon go in their ball before dark, and that includes you Miccino, and don't you think you are going to sneak off again tonight." She looked at that sleeping gray mouse, and he yawned and went back to sleep, ready to go back to its ball in a sec.

She threw both of our balls at the same time and I was completely ready for it. I was sucked in and it minimized quickly. I curled up, surprisingly tired, and drifted off, hoping I wouldn't have another weird vision.

**At 12:23 A.M. in the morning…**

I heard a click echo through my Luxury ball, and I knew someone was accessing my Luxurious bed that I called a Poké ball. I stood up, ready to get launched out, but I was frustrated. Why would Juniper, or I presume Juniper, release me from my ball. My eyes were half shut, the comfort of the ball didn't make waking up easy, and I was launched out. I rubbed my swollen eyes to adjust to the darkness, and looked up. Who released me wasn't Juniper, it was one of those scientists, but they had no glasses on; instead they were wearing ski masks. Why did they look so different from earlier that day? They were holding a potato sack, but there weren't any potatoes in it and they were holding it by the bottom. What was he…?

He slammed the sack on the floor and I felt the danger rush through the air. I felt the floor where the tile sat be replaced by the irritating material of the burlap sack. My whole body flipped upside down and I had no idea what was going on. I scrambled through the bag to try and get out of the tight space and to get right side up again. When I was almost all the way up, the bottom of the bag opened and I fell down in the wrong way and fell on my right side. I was on a mahogany table that stood in front of the purple couch in the carpeted room. I tried to get back up, but the ski mask scientist quickly pinned me down to the dark brown furniture.

Whatever he was doing, I hated it so I struggled to get free from his grip, but his humongous body and my scrawny one was no match for him. He reached for a belt that wrapped around his waist. He grabbed a small needle out of the belt and he held it every so carefully with every precaution, and he had the needle facing directly at my good arm. I struggled more, but a blistering sting coursed its way up and down my bad arm, and then when I was forced to settle down, the shot was piercing my reptilian grass stained skin and then when it was finished, the shot had no more blue liquid in it.

He backed off and he had a devilish grin on his pale face. I wanted to give him an intense uppercut with my shadow punch and knock those teeth out of his mouth, but when I took a step, I felt dizzy. I was nauseous and the whole room tilted and it seemed like the whole building was falling over. Gravity made me slowly tilt to the right, than when I tried to stand straight, I started stumbling toward the left. I saw things start to look blurry and everything had been in slow motion. My head throbbed, my head felt heavier than my whole body, I almost tripped off the table before I started to lean back to the right, and I tripped over my own foot and fallen face first into the fine, carved wood. My exhaustion was then my least problem to my head and black spots covered my vision and I passed out.

**A few minutes later…**

I was slowly coming back into consciousness, and heard a thundering sound of screeching somewhere below me. I was on table, strapped down with two leather straps on four wheels that were being rolled down a hallway. I was strapped down so I couldn't move, and even if I wasn't, my bones were numb and I couldn't feel my lower lip. When I blinked, my eyes remained closed for several seconds. What seemed like whispering voices came from at least a dozen of those ski masked people, but all I could hear was the continuing screeches of the wheels rolling below me. I thought that I could make out another cart strolling along next to me, but my eyes remained dazed and I didn't really know if it was what it seemed to be. I felt everything drift back into its slow motion mode once more, and I felt my eyelids completely shut and force me to pass out once more.

**A couple hours later… **

I opened my eyes once again and I could tell by my senses that it was still early in the morning. I had what felt like the suction cups of an octilliery placed on random parts of my body. The small suction cups were connected with wires and they lead to a machine that had all these rapid blinking buttons. There was a small monitor on it that had all of these zigzag lines that were connected into one. The pattern was a little up and down, but it seemed to get bigger and smaller, and I had no idea what it was supposed to prove.

I was still lying down on a sheet of marble that the cart was made of. I was also still strapped down, and I was right next to another cart that looked exactly like the one I was stuck to. A small Pokémon was strapped to the other one, but everything was still blurry. I was no longer in a hallway, but now in a room that had white tile and odd white mahogany walls. I felt my heartbeat increase and my head throb again. I than took an educated guess and thought that maybe if I was calm, I wouldn't pass out again like I did earlier. I took deep breaths in and out, in and out till I started to feel calm.

I could start to think regular, clear thoughts and my blurred vision effect was starting to wear down. My ears started to pick up more words instead of continuous murmuring and I found out that the human cast that was around my arm was gone. My marred arm was lying down on a small blanket unlike the rest of my body. I noticed many of the scientists surrounding the other cart and so no one had discovered yet that I was out of my drowse. I started to hear nice and clear sentences spoke from each one of the scientists and even a few things from the machines scattered around the room.

"The second snivy extractor test is 27% complete."

"His heart rate is at approximate rate measurement."

"Snivy #2 is still knocked out from that drug that was given to him."

"_Test #2 has a blood temperature at 96 degrees and at an accurate temperature."_

I had no idea what they were talking about, but at least I knew what had probably knocked me out. They injected some kind of drug medicine into my blood system to make me blackout, and how dangerous is that?!

My eyes were wide in interest as I attempted to see what they were talking about exactly. I saw something that was dark and had a pinch of purple somewhere in there, but I couldn't see what it was, just the color. Finally, the main person that was blocking my way moved and went toward some tray that was exposed on what I think was a granite counter. I was shocked when I saw that Zeke was lying helplessly on the sheet of marble, exposed to a drowsy medicine that had forced him into his current state. I was crept out at the moment and then I heard a random person holler through the huge room.

"Snivy #1 is awake, quickly sedate him with that cold medicine," he yelled in a whisper, probably keeping the noise level down for a reason. A few of the scientists that used to be surrounding Zeke scurried over near me and one of them clenched another one of those needles with the blue medicine. I tried to fight back, but two of the surrounding scientists held onto my arm that they were going to inject it in and my head for some reason.

"Now stay still, this will only hurt… a lot… he, he, he…" one of the scientists wickedly laughed before I felt that uncomfortable pinch again in my weak arm. All but one scientist headed toward Zeke, and that disrupting urge was back. I wanted to knock that smile off all their faces, but once again the fuzzy vision effect was back and I my thoughts became misty and my bones started to ache once more. My breathing slowed, I couldn't feel my lips, and I fell back into the unconscious stage again.

**Later in the morning…**

I flung out of bed, scared out of my mind; I was back in my Luxury ball with it shrunken like it should have been. What happened last night? Was that a dream or did someone nab me in my sleep? I checked my arms, and they weren't bruised, hurt, or aching in any way. My head wasn't throbbing and my cast was on my arm. Sweat was soaking up the super absorbent cloth used to make this Luxury ball and my mind was a little foggy, but not super misty. It had to have been a dream; there was no doubt about it.

Coincidentally, the ball had enlarged so I was able to see the outside again. I could make out Juniper's face just outside the ball, and I saw her chuck it and say, "Rise and shine Dusk!"

I was flung out of my tiny home and yawned, and then I stretched my limbs that just felt a little sore. Juniper had that greeting face and I was relaxed instantly. She signaled me with her hand to go into the kitchen, and so I did. I saw a black and purple striped dish that had ruby engraved words that spelled out

DUSK

Inside of my new food bowl laid a delicious bowl of treat for a good morning breakfast. I saw an assortment of berries, Cheri, Rawst, Oran, Sitrus, and Pecha berries were mixed evenly and carefully. Next to my bowl held the same design of color and font and it spelled out,

SHADOW

Still a little disappointed that I wasn't called Shadow, I wiped it from my mind and looked forward the scrumptious berries that lied in my bowl. Holding an Oran berry in my hand, I attempted to take a bite, when I heard a scream. It came from the room with the sliding door that I had just decided to call the resting room. The scream came from Juniper, and I dropped the berry to see what was wrong. I ran into the resting room and saw she was holding a Luxury ball. I didn't know if it was mine or if it was Zeke's, or possibly some other Pokémon's, but all I knew was that her face was a pale white and her face showed only two emotions: shock and fear.

She was staring at something near the sliding door, so I naturally looked over there, and I could feel my skin freeze. It was Zeke, standing in front of the sliding door, confused about why we were both staring at him.

"Guys, what are you staring at," Zeke asked with his voice now starting to sound more mature instead of a squeal.

"Y-y-your color I-is gone," I answered in a faint, raspy voice. His skin was no longer a deep black and a shadowy purple, but his skin was now a regular green and tan. No, he wasn't even a shiny snivy anymore; he looked like a completely normal Pokémon.

"What?!" he screamed, looking at his hands. How could he not notice this? Maybe he didn't notice yet because he just woke up or something else that was reasonable. What could have caused it?

"How could this happen?!" he screamed, freaked out. I thought about it, but there was no possible explanation that could come to reason in my walnut sized brain… except…

Could it have happened last night, or was that a dream? It was the only reason that made sense to me, well, except for one which was that the snivy over there wasn't Zeke, but that was highly unlikely. Last night I saw all those people in lab coats, but they wore black ski masks, so they could have been people not from this lab. Zeke, I hope he was okay, but was anything wrong with myself? Looking at my body, my color was okay. My head didn't hurt, and the only unnatural thing that was different from last night was that my cast didn't seem as firm as yesterday; like it was a bit loose.

Juniper hurried out of the room when a crash came from outside. I could see that a herdier was getting into the trash. She ran off, angry, and left me and Zeke all alone.

"How could this happen?" he yelled at me, demanding an answer.

"How should I know, I was in my Luxury ball the whole night. The only scary thing was the dream last night." A puzzled look replaced his scared expression from earlier.

"Wait, what kind of dream," he asked mysteriously. I told him about the scientists and seeing him get shots and being wheeled down in a cart, and everything else, and he gasped.

"What, I had that same dream with the ski masked scientists and they were poking shots into me at one point and I saw the same thing happening to you!" I was beginning to grow curious about this dilemma. Why would they take me down to that lab place and experiment on me too? The only thing different about me was my color and my color wasn't any different. The only other thing was… gasp! My two good moves, did they take them?! I tried to power up a shadow claw, but they didn't extend into the sludge stained claws and my arm didn't get coated in a shadowy mist. I then attempted to use cross poison, but when I crossed my arms and did the maneuver for it, I just looked like a clown, crossing my arms over and over.

Frightened

Depressed

Enraged

My only feelings burned through my veins, and whoever did this to us… were going to pay!

"AH!" Juniper's voice screamed into the decorative room. I ran outside with Zeke, and saw these weird dressed people. They were wearing these gray jackets that had hoods and kind of looked like night gowns but with hoods. A blue P on a black and white shield with a blue lightning bolt in the background was in the front if the suit. The main colors of it were a dull blue, black, and white. They had dull blue boots, gloves, and hoods. There were at least twenty of them wearing the same stupid outfit. We stood by Juniper's legs, waiting to see what this confrontation was all about.

"Team Plasma, I thought you wouldn't after last time's… public scene," she assumed, telling me that this was some team that wasn't wanted in this here town.

"Well you thought wrong, return Herdier," the guy in the silly outfit countered as he pulled out a regular Poké ball and returned that herdier that was digging through our trash.

"What are you-"she started before she was harshly interrupted.

"You want to know why? Well we have a secret agent wandering around in Sinnoh and he overheard some news about two snivys with unique coloring. These two Pokémon had exactly what we needed for our secret plot."

"What secret plot?" Juniper asked. I thought if all of this stuff was secret, why would you tell someone?

"We are planning to clone Reshiram to make an ultimate Pokémon. We thought that if we have a shiny Pokémon's color sample, a mixture of power DNA, and Reshiram DNA, we would have everything we need," he explained.

"Well that one snivy with those powers, he only knows two unique moves, so how would that be enough for your creature?" she asked.

"Well secretly, ends up that the snivy with those powers was given a really small sample of this formula made at the lab in Sandgem town. We were able to swipe the other part of the formula that remained in the building, and the mission was successful. We were able to use it, but it wouldn't work. We discovered that the only way for it to work on a clone was if we had the whole formula, and then records that we also took from the lab showed that it was injected into a snivy just like the one that was said found and taken to your laboratory. We had some of the professors join your Pokédex research team, and last night while everybody was sleeping, are members put on ski masks so cameras wouldn't see their faces and they took the extra DNA out of that snivy. We also took the coloring out of the other one for style as well."

"Well where you going to get the DNA of a Reshiram, huh wise guy?" Juniper questioned.

"Look what else we took," a girl in the background said, holding up a tiny test tube with a label on it. I squinted to read it, but no matter how hard I tried, I didn't know how to read.

"What, you stole my sample of Reshiram DNA?!" Juniper screamed, furious.

"Yes, and now we will now escape on these highly confidential jetpacks made in our lab."

"Hey wait, if all of this stuff is 'highly confidential' why did you just tell me that?" she questioned once more. A dumbfounded expression faded onto his face; unbelievable!

"Uh… for highly confidential reasons, see ya!" the presumed leader yelled, trying to cover up his stupidity, but took off part of his outfit to reveal a metal machine, also known as a jetpack. The machine made a weird sound that sounded like the engine of a car, and all the ridiculous people rocketed off into the morning sky.

"Those no good crooks, no one steals from me…" Juniper mumbled to herself, her face seething in anger before she threw out an Ultra ball. Out came this huge, yellow spider that I think had six or eight eyes.

"Get them Shockers," she commanded, and the big spider shot a web of electricity high into the air. It grabbed on to at least five of the dangerous criminals. They fallen down with a big thud, passed out from the impact, possibly even dead…

**Many Hours Later…**

The police surrounded the investigation that trailed behind me and the three survivors from the fall were taken to the local prison that is said to be on an island far from the mainland. Zeke stood next to me with his wonderful color back, but I remained in withdraw. My power now lacked in strength from this important delay. The failure of getting my cross poison DNA back and it being stuck with those cruel beasts was devastating. I would be able to get the power to use the move soon without that DNA since some of it still coursed through my blood, but it would come back in like an adult tooth. I wanted to cry and let the hot tears stream down my rosy red cheeks, but I knew that I couldn't. If I was going to have anything good from this experience, it would be my pride and strong willpower.

I walked on the dirty trail toward the next city to get closer and closer to my original goal; to get Zeke and I back to where we rightfully belong. I would never forget that sorrow on Juniper's face, how heartbroken she looked when letting me and Zeke go back into the wild. Why did she do this to me and Zeke; to let us roam free and venture off into the great unknown? I will never forget her and my moral learned, so I will never judge another creature by its cover, and I continued my journey with that tiny snake, actually happy that I'm free once more.


	6. Mysterious Events

**?'S POV**

I could hardly believe this. The Pokémon we were ordered to capture were now gone. They were so far away, that Falcon could barely detect them in a different region! I could hardly believe that we had to travel across the most of the region to get to a plane. How they ended up in Unova and where we needed to get them to in the first place, I had no clue, but I knew that if this plane didn't leave soon, Falcon would lose their scent forever.

Fortunately, we were able to find out about that plane taking off for Unova. It was going to leave in a few hours, and since we were able to find out from a T.V. in a kids house in Oreburgh city, we were able to know ahead of time. We were able to get past Mt. Coronet quickly, and now we were a few hours early. We both climbed into the cockpit minutes ago, and now we had to wait.

_Three hours later…_

Out of a puny window in that small cockpit, I had to detect where we were at all times. We were passing by Nuvema town, and according to Falcon, they are somewhere in Striaton city or Accumla town.

"Hey Shard," Falcon asked, and I ignored him.

"Shard, boss, this is important," he continued, pressing my patience, and I couldn't concentrate on where we were.

"HEY, you have to listen to me SHARD!" he screamed, losing my temper. I looked away from the window, looked face to face at him, and asked angrily,

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"

"We need to jump now, or else we will land too far to catch them today." I felt scared, than rushed back to the window, pushing Falcon out of my way. We were almost above Nimbasa city, which meant we had to jump, now.

"Come on!" I yelled as I picked the scrawny lillipup up with my teeth and ran on all fours. I ran through the cockpit, till I saw the metal wall. Dropping Falcon, I powered up a shadow ball between my jaws and threw it at the wall. A small collision of smoke was conjured up before a ragged hole was made, and most of the luggage was being sucked out and thrown away. I worked up my courage, and ran toward the hole, and without hesitation, I jumped. I fell through the air at an alarming speed, clouds zooming by, and then I felt a tight grip on my fluffy tail. I quickly turned around and saw Falcon holding on for his life.

We were about a hundred yards from landing, so I tried under the pressure to conjure up another shadow ball. We were about to land in front of the entrance to the amusement park, and my shadow ball was too weak. I knew that this was life or death, so I concentrated everything, and I knew I had one shot, and I fired everything I was able to make at the concrete pavement to help soften the impact.

"You better climb onto my back or else you will get slammed into the ground," I warned Falcon after I threw the ball of energy. I huge blast had stuck the concrete as Falcon climbed up onto my back, and then a huge blast had pushed me and Falcon back into the air by a few yards. I quickly used my extra time by making my tail become silver and have a hard exterior, and as we were about to fall to the concrete from about ten yards in the air at half the speed from when we fell, I slammed my iron tail into the sidewalk pavement, my eyes closed.

Reopening my eyes, and saw some smoke. It cleared up, and I saw my plan had worked, and we were actually able to jump out of a plane without a parachute and make it alive. I couldn't help but pant, and I saw that Falcon was alive, but he fainted. My tail was wedged into the concrete and a huge hole was made, so I pushed Falcon to the floor and fell on my four paws. I knew that someone saw the explosion and was coming to see what happened, so I knew I had to get away fast. I got my paws ready, grabbed Falcon in my canine teeth again, and started to use quick attack. I stayed running in place for a second, but my tail came loose and I ran into the amusement park.

I was tired and I was on the verge of fainting, so I looked for a good place to heal. Searching around frantically, I then saw some bushes between the roller coaster ride and the fence that kept people from falling into the lake, so I made a mad dash toward it. I jumped high in the air a few feet from the bushes, and I landed in a tight space. Luckily it didn't have thorns, but I couldn't use anymore moves or else I knew I was going to pass out. The place I landed was small for me and Falcon, but it was big enough. I curled up with Falcon, and I let myself drift off.

**Zeke's POV**

The sun hovered above us in the middle of the sky. It was partly cold and assortments of colors were splashed onto the autumn leaves Tired, Shadow and I took a nice long break near a lake. The lake was huge, and it seemed to lead somewhere, but there was no time for another crazy adventure. Shadow told me stories by the lake about what happened to him in the lab, the battle, his new found trust, his moral, and everything else! We packed up our stuff and kept going on the route.

He found a small opening in the trees that was close to the city, and we checked it out. Inside was a group of patrat, one saw me and then it did a weird scream. It jumped at us, little paws ready to strike us. I ran behind Shadow for cover, and he sent a strong leaf tornado at them. The ones at the very front fainted, and the others retreated. Few remained, and then he used iron tail on this really old one. He seemed to be one of those wise and old guys, but he looked weak. He was definitely too slow to get out of the way and was knocked back on a tree. The remaining patrat fled. We were about to leave, when I heard a bark. Shadow didn't seem to hear it, so I pulled his arm. He turned back annoyed, and I pointed to where the barking came from. Several yips came from a tree, and then out ran this dog.

It was a small, light brown, dog-like Pokémon. A huge bundle of tan fluff covered her face and she had a dull black spot on her back. She had this red scarf wrapped around her neck, and it seemed pretty beaten down. I introduced myself, and so did Shadow. Ends up she wanted us to guide her while we were on our journey. She wanted to go to some place called Nimbasa City, but Shadow said that it was on the way to where we were heading, so I was okay with it. Rachel ended up becoming a new traveling partner, and a new friend.

We passed by Accumla town, and quickly ducked behind this large building. Shadow and Rachel went looking for some food while I stayed put, and they came out minutes later with three apples. All three were gently placed on the dirty ground and we snacked down. I haven't eaten ever since we were back at the lab during dinner. I was half-finished with my apple, and I was already full. When we were all finished, we all headed toward Route 2. We climbed up the ledges that were near the entrance of this short route, and we took the short way, and were able to dodge everybody, but it took forever. We finally made it to Striaton city, but it was now dark, and for some reason, snow was everywhere.

"Shadow, why is there snow everywhere?" I asked.

"Well it is mid-November, so something with the alignment of the earth and sun must be off balance creating snow early," he explained, but I was lost.

"Uh, okay, I get it," I lied. We looked for a place to rest for the night, and then Rachel announced,

"Hey guys, there is a small alleyway down behind these apartments, we should camp out there!" She was right. Behind these apartments was a small space, but it was all dusty. Fences separated some parts of the alley, but it wouldn't stop us. Shadow helped me and Rachel get over the fence, than he climbed over by himself. We said we were going to catch him on the other side, but I was too scared when he fell and I backed away, and he had fallen to the cold ground with a thud. He lifted his head up, and snow covered his face, and I gave a small chuckle. I said sorry once he stood up, but he was still angry.

We then we searched for a place to protect our fragile bodies from the snow. Luckily, this part of the alley had two cardboard boxes on the side so we could crawl in. They were old, and some garbage was on the inside, so I wanted to pass. I was about to back away, but then Shadow reached for my arm and with a tight grip, he pushed me into the box that Rachel was resting in, and I knew I had to resist the urge to breathe through my nose. Accidentally, I took a deep inhale through my nostrils, and the smell of garbage was more disgusting than I thought. How could Rachel stand this? I dashed out, about to puke some warm vomit in the frosty snow, and I did. My mouth had the revolting aftertaste stained onto my taste buds, but then I saw this cat.

It was the most beautiful creature I have ever seen. The cat had this gorgeous purple fur that was bewitching and green eyes that shone in the faint moonlight. Her stunning tail was covered in that exquisite velvet coating and she stood on two feet instead of four, and I knew what this was: love at first sight. My heart was pounding hard, and I felt my feet shake. I couldn't take my eyes off that dazzling fur, and I blushed. I saw her spin around her tail, and hearts seemed to surround her in a circle. I must have been seeing things as I knew I was in love. Then the hearts swiveled its way around me, and I knew that I wasn't being delusional. Quickly, they hit me and my vision went pure white for a second when I heard a twinkling sound. My vision had recovered, and something was really different about that cat resemblance Pokémon. She was no longer beautiful, she was perfect!

Her purple velvet fur was now ravishing and gorgeous. I just wanted to sink my head into its silky fur. Its green eyes shone like emeralds, and the faint moonlight acted like a spotlight from a stage. Her pink eyelids were magnificently charming. That tail slowly swished back in forth in the foxiest way and the tan spots randomly placed on her body just made her look more divine. My skin shook. I had so much courage then and I ran up to the mysterious creature. I saw a shocked look on her face as if she hadn't seen this ever before, but I knew she was 'purr'-fect.

"Zeke, was that you I just hear just know? I want you to go back into that box!" Shadow yelled, but it was like a whisper since I was busy concentrating on this cat that I was immediately in love with.

"Zeke, what are you doing! Get back over here and stay away from that purrloin!" he screamed in demand at me, but I wouldn't listen. Finding out that this Pokémon was a purrloin, I felt my heart beat even harder in my chest at the fascinating name of a Pokémon.

I saw those hearts spin around her like a carousal, and when it left, I turned around to see it aimed at Shadow. It engulfed him, and then I saw him stunned when he looked at the purrloin. He ran up to her and did something that I was too tongue-tied to do, talk to her.

"Your madam, what are you doing in this dusty alleyway all by yourself? You deserve better than this for such a dazzling creature-" I quickly interrupted him in his new sudden attitude.

"Hey, leave her alone you selfish, cold-hearted snake!"

"Who cares, she isn't going to go out with you, you are just a kid; this lady deserves a graceful adult like myself." I felt my eyes fill with rage.

"Why would you love her, you are more cold-blooded than any snivy in the world! I mean come on; your name is Shadow for Arceus's sake!"

"Oh yeah, what are you going to do about that corn snake?" he teased.

"Maybe I'll just have to battle and defeat you!" An evil smirk appeared on his face.

"You think you can defeat me with those noodle arms?"

"I can do it with my eyes closed!"

"Okay than, bring it on!" he screamed and he dashed at me with a weak shadow claw. I attempted to dodge, but then I was too slow and was hit, leaving a shallow cut on my left arm. How dare he attack me for real!

About to launch a vine whip at him, I felt some major pain to my side. It was Rachel, tackling me. I could tell she was strong, and I felt the world go out of focus and I blacked out.

**Shadow's POV**

**The next morning…**

I felt a harsh pain in my side and my bones ached. I felt a slight chill from the freezing snow that lay just outside the box, and it was still snowing. I was lying down in the cardboard box, but Zeke was next to me on my right side with his head lying on my stomach. Did I let him in this box last night; I thought he was with Rachel. I settled the thought to the side for the time as I wondered if Zeke felt the same thing.

"Zeke," I called out. He slowly woke up with weary eyes, but remained in his transfixed position.

"What?" he harshly called with a raspy voice.

"Do you feel all roughed up at all?" I questioned. He gave a slight nod in response. A new question popped into my mind.

"Do you at all remember anything from last night after we decided to sleep in these boxes?" I felt like I had sudden amnesia.

His weary eyes snapped alert, and he shook his head after he sat up, fully awake from the confusing question.

"Well that's strange, I wonder what happened last night," I mentioned.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS!?" Rachel's voice screamed in. She jumped in front of the side way box, her fluffy face suddenly furious.

"Rachel, were you eavesdropping on us?" I asked, a little mad myself.

"No, well yes actually… well it doesn't matter! How come you don't remember anything last night, it wasn't like I tackled you on the head!" She tackled us last night; why did she do that?

"Why did you tackle us last night?" Zeke blurted out, thinking just what I was.

"Uh, you guys are so stupid," she insulted, and I went from angry to furious.

"Just explain what happened last night!" I yelled.

"Finally, you were both acting like idiots last night. A stupid purrloin came by last night and she used attract on both of you. Well, I'm guessing attract, I didn't see you guys till you were in an argument about which one should date her." I sweat dropped, feeling so idiotic for doing that with Zeke.

"I tackled you both and surprisingly, you were both knocked out with a single move." There was only one way that I could have been defeated so easily, and it would only be if she was at a really high level like 30 or 35.

"You slashed Zeke in the middle of your pathetic brawl, and then after you were knocked out, I had to chase that annoying purrloin away and then I dragged you into this box." I didn't remember any of that from last night, but did she really have to tackle us? Now that is what you call pathetic! I couldn't believe that I hurt Zeke, but when I looked at his left arm, I knew it had to be true, but I wasn't going to apologize for it.

"Well anyway, I'm hungry," Zeke blurted out once more. I was starving as well; I haven't eaten ever since yesterday at noon, and I was pretty sure that because of this snow, all the food on bushes and in trees would be dead.

"Well, if you guys are hungry, I know this great place around here; it's a restaurant," Rachel mentioned.

"Well what kind of food is there?" I asked. I wasn't going to eat there if they served meat; I was a vegetarian, so you could call me an herbivore.

"They make all kinds of food. My favorite is this delicious croissant that is packed with an assortment of berries. Sometimes, they add a splash of ginger and pepper that just makes it even more scrumptious." That description was so well thought out, as if she had said it a hundred times before.

"I want to go and try that!" Zeke yelled enthusiastically as he jumped out of the box and stood next to Rachel in the shallow snow.

"What about you Shadow, are you in?" Rachel questioned. I thought about it for a few seconds, and then replied,

"Well what are we waiting for, let's go!" I slowly limped out of the box with my ache limbs. I stretched for a second, than followed the pair that was dashing through the bitter snow.

We climbed back over the fence, but that time I was caught instead of falling face first into the snow like yesterday. The clouds blanketed the sky as a weak army of snow fell gracefully to the ground. The clouds made the sky misty and hid the sun making it impossible to tell what time it was from the blazing ball of fire. People shoveled snow off their driveway pavements and volunteers shoveled the snow off the sidewalks. Some people worked on the streets since the roads were too small for snowplows to come by. Snow covered the rooftops of buildings like a coat of icing on a birthday cake. We wandered across the street to a big building. Surprisingly, the little dog didn't go to the front door, but went down a different alley way that had no fences, but was just as dusty and narrow as the other one.

We all walked through the lonely area till we arrived at what seemed like a backyard, but wasn't like one to a house. There were some glass tables with umbrellas and plastic chairs. A fence separated this place from a Pokémon center, and the whole area was blanketed in the falling snow, and there was no effort to remove it. The back of the building had a weird red door. It seemed like you could open half of the door on top, and then open the other half which could let someone in. This place was vacant, and this must have been the back of the restaurant. Rachel scurried up to the mysterious door and scratched at it with her dull claws and her numb paws. I hoped she would hurry this up, because I hated the cold.

I heard quiet footsteps edge its way toward the door, and then the top part of it opened, letting the guy look out, but making us unable to come in. A strong smell of food flowed out, and I licked my chops. The guy had the weirdest haircut ever; it was fire red in the shape of an ember. I had a feeling that I wouldn't like this guy that much.

"Rachel, how are you doing, I bet you came here till must of this snow is gone, didn't ya? I bet you came here to see Cilan too, right?" he asked. Rachel replied with saying, 'Yes, yes, and I have some friends too,' but I knew all he heard was little puppy barks and he mostly just saw the red scarf of hers. He left, and I simply adored that delicious scent that blew out of the kitchen. I couldn't wait to go inside… if they let us.

About a minute later, a guy with light green hair came out. His hair was similar to the shape of the fire head that was just there. I saw Rachel start to shiver from the cold, even with that ruby scarf around her neck.

"Hey Rachel, long time no see! I thought you already were in Nimbasa city, but I guess not." I had a feeling I would like this guy.

Rachel replied with little barks in Pokémon language, and I knew all he heard was puppy barks also.

"Well come on in, oh wait, do you want those two weird colored snivys to come in as well?" he questioned before he pushed open the other part of the door. She stared at his face, and then nodded with a wide grin on her fluffy face.

"Well then come on in guys! Remember, they have to work for food though," he shouted in a friendly tone as he pushed the other half of the door open, but what did he say about us having to work? Rachel dashed inside after she shook all the snow out of her light brown fur, and I followed her, and decided to ask the question later. I acted polite and wiped my tan feet on the brown mat that was on the white tiled floor I noticed. I felt the heat wash over me and my numb feet were getting better fast. The leaf head guy who I know as Cilan smiled at me, and then I followed Rachel and Zeke who were running ahead. On the way, I slipped and fell on the tile floor since Zeke didn't wipe his feet and he left wet footprints. I moved around them and continued after them, but I didn't run, I just slowly walked, enjoying the wonderful aromas that filled the rooms.

Finally when they took a left into a room, I broke into a mad dash. When I entered, I saw many Pokémon in the room. There was a red carpet that matched the color of the scarf Rachel wore. A brick fireplace had sat in the back of the room and next to it laid a window with red curtains. The fireplace had bundles of firewood chucked in and were being settled a blaze with a warm fire. Just like the room back at the lab, the walls were made of mahogany, but it was a dark brown. A green, silk couch faced the fireplace and I saw many pillows probably used for beds on the left side of this big room. I saw lots of food bowls with names carved into them with something like a knife. A few of the names was Fluff and Patches.

I saw so many Pokémon in this room. I saw one other Pokémon that was like Rachel, but the fur on his face was matted and really unkempt. I saw also saw four patrat, a pansage, panpour, and a pansear. The lillipup was eating out of a food bowl that was labeled Fluff and all the patrat were lying on top of each other in a pile next to the fireplace, sleeping, and each had a collar. The pansage, pansear, and panpour were shivering and partly covered in snow and they were by the fireplace; looked like they were playing outside earlier. The monkeys each had a sweater that matched their Pokémon element; for example, the pansear had a red sweater. The Pokémon ignored us like we weren't that important. I decided that this was the perfect time to ask some questions.

"Rachel, what-" Rachel interrupted me.

"Hey guys, sit on this couch, it is 100% made out of pure silk imported from Kanto." She jumped up onto the couch, and we followed. When I jumped up and sat right next to her, it was so comfortable. It was just like the luxury ball cushions I slept on back when I was with Juniper. I forgot about that comfy bed and focused on the question.

"So like I was saying, what did Cilan mean by us having to work?" I asked.

"Well, it means you have to work," she mocked.

"Well I mean why do we have to?"

"They don't just let Pokémon come in here and eat and rest for free, you need to help. After all, they need the help since this is the best restaurant in the region. All you have to do is help make the food or take the food out to the customer, so it is pretty easy," she explained. That was a pretty good bargain for that kind of food. Zeke jumped off the couch and went toward the pile of patrat, watching them for some reason.

"Why is he doing that?" Rachel asked.

"I have no idea," I answered.

"So did you used to live here?"

"Yes, I was actually Cilan's lillipup, but now I have to go to Nimbasa city for something, but I'm not telling you about that yet!"

"So who are those guys?"

"They are Cress, Chili, and Cress. They are three elemental gym leaders. They managed to make this building into a gym as well."

"Why are there three gym leaders?"

"Well they wanted to give themselves the upper hand so that trainers had to use strategy to defeat them." Another question came to mind and I asked,

"Rachel, who and why is everybody here?" She quickly moved her red scarf since it was starting to fall off her neck, and then started to explain.

"They are the Pokémon that live here, and they have to work as well. That lillipup with his face in the chow is Fluff. He loves to have his fluffy face all tangled and overgrown. He hates to have his fur groomed, pampered, or trimmed. There is another lillipup, but he seems not to be here. There is supposed to be five patrat, but I guess the other one is working. The names are Handy, Glove, Patrick, Patrat, and Pouches. As you can see, they have licenses to help us tell who is who. They usually help us in rush hour, but I guess they needed one right now. The three monkeys over there are Pansage, Pansear, and Panpour. They are the main partners of the three cooks in this kitchen. They also were missing a few days ago, and a rumor told me that they were infected with something, but were found at Juniper's lab two days ago, and was returned yesterday." I remembered that I battled a pansear, panpour, and pansage, but was that possibly those ones that I attacked? I stared at the pansear, and I saw a small bruise on the side of his stomach. Was that possibly from that thing that attacked him? Was that the pansear that bit into my skin so badly days before?

"There are even two purrloin, but I guess they are both working right now." I didn't really listen to her, and I walked over to the group of apes. I tapped on the pansear's shoulder, then he turned around to face me, and he jumped back, looking scared.

"Hey, are you that pansear that I battled against a few days ago?" I asked. He was cowering, but then he knocked the feeling off.

"Y-yes, I'm so sorry that I r-r-ripped at your flesh like that, please don't hurt me!" he replied. No one was watching us but Rachel and the three monkeys.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you, I was just wondering if you were that monkey and why you did it."

"Y-you want to know why? I was a-a-attacked by this purrloin, and so were my brothers. It ran u-up to us and injected us with this purple s-s-stuff. I went out of control, and she almost killed us; she tried to cut our necks I think. The purple stuff made my head fill with noises and I went insane, and I just felt like it was e-eating my insides. Fortunately, Juniper took the stuff out and we went back to normal. I'm r-really sorry." I was shocked. I remembered that one time when I was about to blackout, I saw this lightning bolt and then a purrloin. I saw the three monkeys, and how their necks were cut by her claws. Did I see the past? No, it wouldn't make sense that on the verge of passing out that I would see the past, but what he said matched the description of my dream perfectly, so it must be true! Well it only happened once; it _had_ to be a coincidence.

"Thanks for your time," I thanked as I walked away. They turned back toward the fireplace, shivering once more. I jumped back onto the couch, and Rachel didn't say anything. She seemed stunned, but didn't want to say a word. There was a disturbing silence, than this guy with blue, aquatic hair walked in, breaking it.

I saw a patrat, lillipup, and three purrloin walk in. The patrat had a collar that said 'Glove' on it. The lillipup had dark brown fur instead of light brown, and he seemed really relaxed. The three purrloin all looked just like the ones from the vision, but one of them seemed to be familiar. It was strange that Rachel said that there were only two purrloins, but there were three. Rachel seemed to be focusing on the elemental primates, not noticing the Pokémon coming in.

"Come on guys, time for your break, we can take the heat for about half an hour," the water haired guy said in what I'm guessing is an England accent before he walked back into the kitchen.

"Hey Rachel, do you know the names of those guys over there?" I questioned, hoping that Rachel just forgot about one of the Pokémon.

"Well the lillipup is Sonny. He loves going in the back of the restaurant during the summer and tan. There is Glove with that name tag around his neck. The two purrloins over there are Scratches and Claws. They came here about a month ago so they are new." She looked over at that last purrloin, and she growled with a deep snarl carved into her face. She must know that purrloin, but doesn't like it very much.

"Rachel, why are you growling?" Zeke asked, looking away from the patrat. He walked over, waiting for a response besides the menacing growl.

"That is the Purrloin that made you idiots fall in love with last night, she must have been hired a while ago," she managed to say through her wide snarl, and her fur started stacked up.

"Well she does look pretty hot," Zeke blurted out. I couldn't resist this time and I slapped him on the head. He rubbed his now bruised head, then said,

"Why did you have to slap me? Can't you just ignore it?!" I took his advice, and instead of slapping him that time, I ignored his question. Rachel finally ran full speed toward the purrloin, and unfortunately, Chili was walking pass the room in the kitchen. The purrloin didn't move, but wasn't shocked in fear. She gave a devious grin, and I could recognize that look. She looked so innocent, but looking closely, you could tell that she was guilty of something. I ran into a running frenzy as well to help Rachel. Chili grabbed onto Rachel, and she struggled for freedom, but with two strong, bulky hands, he kept a firm grip. He couldn't stop me with those hands; if he tried to keep Rachel trapped in one of his hands while he reached down to get me, Rachel would easily break free, so he watched me zoom right by him. I prepared my iron tail and was ready to strike, when I saw she wouldn't move. Why wasn't she moving to get out of the way? About to give her some of her own medicine, I saw that silver glimmer. I knew it was too late, and then I saw the purple tail transform into and iron tail, and the last thing I saw was a tail, about to slash me before I could get out of the way.

**Rachel's POV**

From all the work he does in the kitchen, his hands were rough and muscular, and it was hard to get out of his grasp. Grease was covering his pale hands, and then I knew I had a chance to escape. I used my dull claws to dig into his skin so I could do as least pain as possible, and his grip had loosened. I pulled my feet back, and used it as a spring and I was shot out of his hands. Purrloin was gone but I didn't know where she went, but I wasn't worried about her anymore. Shadow was in deep pain, and I saw him punched on the head. She attacked fiercely than ran away like a coward; who knows what she could steal as a cat burglar with strength like that.

"Shadow, are you okay?!" I screamed in panic. He didn't reply.

I started to cool down, and thought maybe he was pretending. I shaked my paws in front of his eyes and joked,

"Shadow, are you there?" He finally responded, but it was in a raspy whisper, as if he lost his voice. Zeke has arrived at the crime scene and was about to hear his reply.

"Rachel, Z-Z-Zeke, I can barely t-t-talk. That n-no good crook used an attack r-right at my n-n-neck. I nee-need to r-rest." Why did that Purrloin have to show up in the first place and attack us? This Pokémon just comes out overnight and now is one of my new arch enemies. I wish I could have helped Shadow in any way, but I knew I couldn't. Chili just put him down in my old bed that I slept in when I used to live here. Chili also thought I did it out of all people, and now I have this punishment. He scolded me than doubled my shift during rush hour, and out of all the days, it had to be on a Saturday.

**An hour later…**

On my back I had a tray tied to it with rope and on top of it was a really expensive dish. It was a turkey dinner for an early thanksgiving meal. It had the complete package of yams, mashed potatoes, and a big turkey. There were many other sides, and they also ordered unlimited breadsticks and croissants, so all together it was about $150.00. I hoped that I wouldn't drop it, and I had to get it to their table fast, but I slowed down because it wasn't like I had any hands to catch it if the heavy tray slipped off my back. I was walking past the counters that lead up to the doors that lead to the tables, when I saw something. It was a black leg with a red tip on the end, and it came out between the spaces between the counters. It was inches away from my feet, and with it so close, it tripped me. I closed my eyes and covered my ears with my light brown paws. Even though my ears were covered, I could still hear the clanking of the steel tray, the squishes of the fallen and ruined food, the clinking silverware, and the shattering glass plates. I opened my eyes and stood on my four paws, and then I quickly looked between the counters that the leg tripped me from, and saw that nothing was there. Whoever tripped me had fled, just like that purrloin.

I knew that Cilan would understand me dropping everything. It was just a simple mistake, and what does he expect; I don't have hands. I saw the disturbing scene of food that crumbled and shards of glass scattered on the tile floor. Silverware and the tray were messed around and were in random places along this now dirty floor. I looked up, and saw Cilan. His rough hands were clenched into a hard fist, and his eyes were boiling just like the pot of water cooking the spaghetti on the stove. His feet partially rattled the floor like a mini fissure and I saw the working Pokémon stop and stare at the scene.

"RACHEL, HOW DARE YOU!" his voice hollered through the room, filled with a furious rage and a deep hatred. This was the first time in my life that I saw Cilan this way. His words echoed through the room, and I could bet that the people at the tables heard it as well. I flinched as he ran up to me, and he ripped my red scarf off harshly than scooped me up by clenching his tight fingers onto my delicate scruff. His fingers inched its way to have a thick grasp around my scrawny neck, and he lifted me into the air, squeezing the breath out of me, hard. Choking, I gasped for air as he gave no mercy, and began to take the breath out of my puny lungs. He never had done this before; one time I dropped a dish that cost fifty dollars more than this, but all he did was taking a few berries out of my dinner. I struggled for freedom, but the skin behind the fluff on my face started to burn and turns red. The arm that I was being held captive in was pulled back, and he kept this position for a second, like he wanted to see me try and get free. I knew that this wasn't Cilan; he would never do this to me. At an alarming speed, he threw me into a wall that was right by a kitchen counter. I took in the oxygen in mid-throw before I hit the wall, and the air was sucked back out of me again and I yelped for help.

Cilan stormed off down a hallway, and when he took a left, he was gone. I could hardly breathe and I couldn't help but pant. Chili and Cress must have seen the scene and they rushed over, dropped everything they were doing, and attempted to help me. I heard some worried murmuring from some Pokémon, and I knew that these guys would help me.

"Don't worry Rachel, help is on the way. I have no idea what got into Cilan, and I'll go get the first aid kit," Cress said in this calm, reassuring voice with his weak England accent. I couldn't move at all and remained in my position. He ran out of my vision, and then Chili went out of my sight also, and seconds later, Chili came back with my scarf, and wrapped it back around my neck. I felt just a little happier when he did that for me, and I saw his comforting grin.

Cress ran back down the hallway, with the case. He placed it on the counter next to me and opened the latch. That's all I saw before I was forced to look straight ahead at Chili when my eyes grew weak. Someone took off my scarf and lifted my head, than used it as a pillow, and I felt way better. I saw a Popsicle stick in Chili's hand, and Chili asked me to say ahh. I said ahh, but he most likely only heard a bark or yelp. My throat was itchy and swollen, and my voice sounded so raspy and light. Chili was then holding what seemed like a Pecha berry in the shape of a claw. He asked me to eat it, so I tried my best to open my mouth and forced myself to take a bite. My teeth burnt hard and I thought that a lot of my teeth probably broke. The berry was very sweet with a bit of a spicy taste, than my throat felt a lot better. I was even confident enough that I could stand up for at least a second.

Before I got too cocky, I looked at my body with as much power as I could with my heavy eyes. It was covered in big bruises around my arms, legs, my back, and I felt some pain under the fluff on my face. This huge thing was swelling up on my back and I could barely tell that some blood stained the fluff on my face, and I couldn't feel one of my legs. There was way more injuries and I knew that a human couldn't be that strong and gave me that much damage from chucking me across the room. Cress than asked me to stand up, and I knew I had to. When I stood up, I heard a crack from the leg that I didn't feel anything from, and I knew that it shattered. My vision got blurred and it was finally enough damage to knock me out and end up into an unconscious state.

**Shadow's POV**

I was curled up and shivering in the potato sack. What were my friends doing to find me? Did they even know that I was kidnapped? Seconds before I passed out, I recalled seeing an image of me. It was like there was a duplication of me, or a clone, and it was able to convince them that I was just punched in the neck. The bloody slit along my stomach had begun to fill with puss and was starting to get infected. I could hardly breathe till about every few seconds. A metallic taste of blood lingered in my mouth as I felt weak from the big wound. What kind of iron tail could leave a slash like that? How could that cat even use an iron tail; I wasn't even sure if a purrloin could use it, but my head was misty and I wasn't thinking clearly. I was stuck in a sack that smelled like French fries and no one knew I was missing.

Suddenly, I felt the cold ground beneath me get removed and the bag was moving back and forth violently. I heard no footsteps, so it was weird. I felt a rush of wind and a hard pound against my back, and then the rope that kept me in this bag had gotten loose and I rolled out of the small prison from the impact. I opened my eyes slowly to reveal a dark room. The walls were made out of steel and so was the floor. Out from some shadows ahead of me came this ghost Pokémon. I think it was called a haunter, and it had a levitating purple body with two purple claws that wasn't attached to it but floated as well.

"Who… who are you," I barely managed to make out.

"It doesn't matter about who I am kid; you should just be more worried about…" He paused for a second and gave an intimidating, evil laugh, then continued, and who was he calling a kid?

"You should be more worried about what will happen _**to you!**_" He went back into the shadows, but about a few seconds later, an arbok came out of nowhere and used its slimy tail to grab onto me. It started to squeeze and pack me in, and made the bruise from the impact to the wall and the slash on my stomach grow in pain. I was on the urge of blacking out again. Then, I started to feel a familiar dizziness.

I saw that dark room again with the streak of lightning. The blast of white came out of nowhere, and then I saw the weirdest thing. There was a hole in this chamber place, and Zeke and Rachel were there. I saw a salamence fly up to the ship, and it fled. The vision stopped and I saw the bright light, the lightning, and the darkness, then I came back to reality.

It happened again for the third time. It was the third time when I had this weird dream before I fell to sleep or was about to pass out. The first one was about when I saw Juniper for the first time. The second was when I saw the thing about the monkeys and the Purrloin, and the last was just a few seconds ago. Even weirder yet, I saw two of these things in the-

I couldn't think about it anymore from the tight squeeze of the Wrap. I had drifted off before I could end my train of thought.


	7. Everything Unfolds

**Zeke's POV**

Finally, my break had just started. I was stuck helping this blue hair guy wash dishes with my vine whip, and man, I hate washing dishes. I headed toward the resting room to check on Shadow, hoping that he was okay. When I walked into the room, he wasn't on a bed. He was nowhere in the room, and Rachel wasn't there either. That was strange because the restaurant is now closed, and it wasn't like they had anywhere else to go. I double checked, and they were definitely gone. I frantically searched a third time, and I knew that there was no more use in looking, but I found out that one of the purrloin was gone. It was that hot one that Rachel said I fell in love with about a day ago. Taking a risk, I left the room to find them.

I took a left to go through the kitchen; to see if they were still doing some work. I walked by the counters, checking for a clue. At the counter at the very end, I saw blood stained in front of it on the tile floor. I tried to jump up to see what was on top of the counter, but I was too small. Thinking of a way to get up, I extended my strong vines, and used them to lift me off the floor and onto the counter. There was more stained blood on it, and a Popsicle stick, and a blood stained rag. I saw someone attempted to clean the counter, but some reason someone didn't finish it. That explained why the dish cloth was soaked up with some blood. I had no idea what the Popsicle stick was for, but I knew someone was injured here. I used my vines to safely lower myself to the floor, and kept checking the counters. Between two counters was that red scarf that Rachel always had around her neck, strange. I picked up the red scarf and carried it with me.

I kept looking between the small spaces of the counters, knowing that there could be more clues there. Then I felt a sudden sharp pain. Quickly looking down, I saw a piece of glass wedged in my foot. I used my fingers and attempted to pull it out, but when I tried, I felt more pain, and it made me back off. I tried once more, and I closed my eyes, got a firm grip, and yanked really hard, ignoring the pain. I reopened my eyes, and saw I was holding a dirty piece of glass with some blood in it. Checking my foot, it felt numb and some blood leaked out, but otherwise seemed fine.

"Ouch," I whispered, hoping no one heard me. I pushed the bloody glass under a nearby counter carefully, when I saw something sparkle in the corner of my eye. I turned my head around, and about a few inches away was another piece of dirty glass. I limped carefully toward it, and picked it up. It was just like the other piece, but it was shaped differently. I scooted the piece under another counter, when something had shimmered right under another counter. I bent down and moved my hand around the dark space carefully, and I felt some thick, cold material. I grabbed onto it with a tight grip and took it into my sight, and it was a silver fork. What was with all this broken glass and silverware? This kitchen could really use a health inspector. Some more pieces of glass were around this counter, so I cautiously swept the glass I could find under the counter.

Between the counters, there was lots of dust, but I saw some footprints in between two of them. Memories of the dusty alley from yesterday came to mind, and I felt that I should just forget about this whole thing. Then I remembered that Shadow, Rachel, and the hot cat are possibly in trouble, so I worked up some courage, and walked through the narrow space. The space was surprisingly big so it just felt like I was walking down a really small hallway. I kept going a few seconds till I made it to a white wall which was strangely not covered in dust. I felt the wall, and it was sturdy, so how could the footprints end here? On the ground, I saw lots of dust, but one area had no dust, and was covered up with a napkin. I reached out and picked up the napkin to reveal this red button. Curious, I gently pushed the button, and it made a click sound. I saw the part of the wall with no dust start to move. Being partly scared, I took a few steps back as the wall moved.

The wall started to rise slowly, and stopped after it was about my height. It was some kind of tunnel. I couldn't determine if it was smart or foolish to go in, but what if my friends were in there? I couldn't leave them in this labyrinth, so I forced myself to move into the tunnel. The floor was made out of stone, and so were the walls. Suddenly, I heard a clank noise come from behind me. I swished my head around to see that the machine operated door had closed, and there was no turning back.

The tunnel was dark and narrow just like between the counters, but I had to feel around to know where to go. It went straight for a while, when I tripped over something. I got back on my feet and picked the object up and it was just a rock; I dropped it and kept going. I went like this for a while, and I tripped many times and bruised my right elbow. It started to feel like someone was baking me alive, and the tunnel had gotten narrower. I had to drop to my elbows, all sweaty, and crawl some of the way. Finally the steaming heat had stopped and the pressure had decreased. I was able to stand up, and there were lit torches in the back of the area. I was in a room where there was a steel floor with steel walls.

I cautiously took a few steps into the room, frightened that there was no way to get back. I then heard a low, muffled voice echo in the room. I searched around, scared, and then saw that in a corner that a torch wasn't lit was a squirming figure. I slowly walked toward it, when I saw a tail in the shape of a leaf; Shadow! I ran up to him, and in the faint light I saw he was tied up with rope and was muffled up with masked tape sealing his mouth shut. I instantly ripped the masked tape off his mouth, and saw him yelp in pain for a second.

"Shadow, Shadow, are you alright?" I frantically yelled, hoping he was okay. He stopped squirming and answered,

"Do you think I look alright? I'm tied up, have a slash on my stomach, a huge bruise on my back, and my mouth is burning! You should learn to never rip tape off someone's mouth, slowly peal it off!" He was seemed alright when he talked, but physically was in pain.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I was kidnapped, what does it look like to you?"

"Well who kidnapped you?"

"I don't really know, first I saw that Purrloin, than I saw this clone of me, than a haunter, than an arbok, so I don't really know what is happening." I had no idea what a haunter or an arbok, but I knew that it didn't really matter.

"Wait, how did you get here in the first place, and why do you smell like French fries?" He explained that he wasn't actually punched in the neck, but slashed in the stomach, which explained his wound. He was held captive in an old bag that used to have potatoes, was thrown against a wall, was knocked out, and woke up here. He then said he wouldn't answer any more questions till I untied him.

I dragged his body from the rope into the dim light of an ember on a torch. I flipped him over to see a twisted knot on the back. He yelped when I turned him over, but it was for the greater good. I found part of the rope, and pulled a loop and loosened it. I then slowly pulled the end of a rope out, and then made a swift maneuver and after a while and a few mistakes, I finally untied him. Shadow partly stretched, than I saw the revolting wound on his stomach and the big bruise on his back. He had a limp in his self, and he seemed to be in major pain. I helped him up and he had to put his arm around my shoulder.

"Do you know where Rachel is?"

"I have no idea."

"Ugh, this detective stuff is so hard!"

"Shut up!" Shadow screamed for no reason.

"Well you don't have to be rude!"

"No, no, not in that kind of way!" he screamed. "Listen really closely." We stayed still for a second, and all I could hear was the crackling sounds of the fire. Suddenly, I heard some bird noise.

_ "Caaaaaaaaaaaaw," _I heard a voice scream.

"So you found my secret chamber young Pokémon, took you long enough,_ Caaaaaaaaaaaaw,_" a mischievous voice randomly echoed through the steel room. I checked around the perimeter, and saw nobody. Who was that, it was probably-

"Where are you?" Shadow blurted out, interrupting me in mid-thought.

"Oh sorry, I forgot that you can't see me all the way here, how pathetic," that same voice insulted, and then a big bird flew down.

The bird had huge, dark brown wings and huge, tan eyebrows. It had ruby eyes and a really small beak. It had tan feet with sharp talons and had black, upside down triangles in two rows. It represented an owl. Shadow than said in a whisper,

"A Noctowl, what is one doing here?" I could tell by the fragile way he said it that this Pokémon was really strong, and you probably don't usually see one around here. The bird flew down to the steel ground with intimidating eyes.

"Hello young fellows, how nice to see you… he, he, he," she laughed creepily.

"What are you doing here" I managed to say under the pressure.

"Uh, you still don't get anything do you? What should I expect from two snakes that have walnut sized brains, tsk, tsk," she insulted.

"Where's Rachel?" I screamed at the foul bird. She shook her head, than answered,

"You are truly the most idiotic snivy I have ever found, she is right over there in the corner." She extended her wing in a corner that was shadowed by darkness. She flew back into the air with her wings that had a wide wingspan, and used her talons to clench onto a lit torch. She flew over with it to that corner, and she moved the ember along an unlit torch, and it sprouted up, showing a faint light. She had lit two others, then flew back to where she got the torch, and put it back in this container thing that was able to keep these torches on the wall.

In the faint light, I saw Rachel all beaten up. She had blood soaked up in her fur, and many bruises, and I think a broken leg, but I wasn't sure. She was motionless, tied up, and muffled, just like when I found Shadow. I couldn't tell if she was alive or dead at my angle, but I was severely worried.

"What did you do to her?" I shouted at the owl like bird.

"Oh, not much, I just tossed her around and she got a little hurt in the process," she replied, not answering my question and making me more frustrated.

"Tell me a-" she interrupted me.

"Well if I tell you some things, let us do this in private." I didn't really understand her question. I then saw purple rings shoot out of her eyes and aim straight at me. I jumped out of the way in fear, dropping Shadow on the steel ground.

"Sorry Shadow!" I screamed at him, unable to control the volume of my voice, and the purple rings had swept over him. His eyes grew heavy, and then he had fallen asleep.

"What-"

"That was hypnosis. It is a move that makes people fall asleep, and sometimes if you do it right, you can control their actions. I also used that attack on your little canine friend over here," she interrupted, as if she read my mind.

"Now, what does the so called, chosen one want?" When I was about to ask my first question, the words, 'chosen one' was uncalled for.

"What do you mean by chosen one?" I asked, getting even more frustrated with this act of tomfoolery.

"Oops, did I just say that out loud?" she teased, and I knew she was trying to taunt me.

"Yes, yes you did!"

"Oh, I don't think I will answer that question, not now anyway. I will tell you later on." I felt anger course through my veins. Before I could ask another question, she started to talk through that upper beak of hers.

"Well I see that you have so many questions, but they will have to wait. The reason I wanted to talk to you privately was because of two things. One thing is that I should tell you a few secrets."

"What's the second thing?"

"It's a secret, and you'll find out about it in a minute." I allowed her to continue.

"You see, I have been watching you from the very beginning; even before you were born. This whole adventure you are on is just a big waste." What was she talking about? Did she expect me to turn back after everything we had done so far, and what does she mean about watching us?

"I can tell by your confused expression that you have no idea what I'm talking about, so I'll just say it a little more clearly." Surprised and knowing that this would take a while, I sat down on the steel floor.

"Now a long time ago, Shadow had two parents. They were both snivys, and they didn't like Shadow because he was a shiny snivy and they thought that something bad would happen, so when they were able to find this trap, they pushed him in. He was taken to Sandgem town, and was tested on. They made his bluish color turn black and purple, than gave him two strong powers. He then escaped and had been living in Eterna forest ever since."

"So, what does this have to do with me?" I asked, wanting to get straight to the point.

"Well when he was pushed in, his parents had an egg. They ran away before they would also be caught, but accidently dropped the egg. When the scientists came, they also found the egg and took it to the lab along with Shadow. The egg was stolen in the middle of Shadow's escape by a Team Plasma secret agent. Team Plasma is an evil organization in Unova that is trying to liberate Pokémon. Team Plasma actually was the only reason that Shadow could escape. I am also a Pokémon member of this team."

"Still, what does this have to do with me?"

"Please don't interrupt me, and maybe this will make more sense. Team Plasma knew that this is a special egg. This egg was supposed to hold an incredibly important Pokémon. They had to destroy it, but they couldn't just break it. It had to grow up, and then it is said that it would find this item, and after that, they would take the item than kill the Pokémon. They had to kill it after or else something disastrous would happen to their team. The only flaw is the Pokémon had to be with a relative while growing up for it to find the item to come. How this had to happen for it to work, I have no idea, but it has to in order for Team Plasma to get what they want."

"What are they after in the first place?"

"It is this important stone that is said to hold dark powers. When the power is extracted and injected into a Pokémon, it gives them powers of some of the strongest moves and abilities."

"I still don't really get what this has to do with me."

"How do you still not get this? You are the egg! You are the special Pokémon that they are trying to kill! It is said in folklore that you will find that item! I was forced to hypnotize this buneary into talking Shadow into giving him the egg and made him leave on this journey! This is why you are called the chosen one!" I was shocked, but still really confused.

"Well why did he have to leave on this journey?"

"Ugh, it is told in this folklore. The Pokémon, also known as you, had to be with a relative on a journey so on the way, they would come across the stone."

"Wait, how's Shadow my relative, I thought he wasn't my dad."

"You are right, he isn't your dad. He is your _**brother**_! He just doesn't know it." I knew he was related to me, but not in that kind of way. All this information was coming in so fast; I could hardly keep track of all of it.

"What folklore are you talking about?"

"It was an old legend that had almost gone in the grouping of forgotten history. In this old library that was going to be torn down, a member of Team Plasma found the last book about it, and ran off. I'm afraid that I can't tell you the actual folklore since it is highly confidential." I stomped my foot in anger. I couldn't believe I was some special Pokémon. How could folklore even tell the future?

"Is that all?" I asked, furious.

"Yes and the second reason are because I'm here is to kidnap you and take you to Team Plasma. We still want that special coloring of yours, and before you ask, the reason we want yours and not Shadow's is because you are like a legend, so we would like yours better. Before I do that, I want to do it in front of your friends, so I can confess a few other things. Also, for the record, they should _**not **_know about your prophecy, and both of us shouldn't reveal it." I didn't want to cooperate anything with this trickster Pokémon. This Pokémon was pure evil, working with Team Plasma and was going to kidnap me after. I didn't know why this Pokémon would think I would go along with it, but there was nothing I could do, so I had to follow along.

She stretched her wings and then gave a screeching caw. Rachel and Shadow started to slowly wake up a few seconds after the caw.

"Ugh, I can't feel my brain," Shadow complained.

"Well I can't even move!" Rachel complained.

"Since everybody isn't sleeping, I think it's time for some, confessions. I'll start with the things about the little pup," the noctowl announced.

"DON'T call me a pup!" Rachel demanded.

"Okay, PUP! He, he, he…" the noctowl teased.

**Rachel's POV**

I grinded my canine teeth together as I wanted to tear those feathers off her skin and shove it into that snotty beak of hers. I wish I could, but I could hardly breathe with all the damage I had taken from Cilan.

"Oh Rachel, Rachel, where should I begin, maybe with that I was the one who tripped you back in the kitchen and how I made you drop that expensive dish." I growled deeply, knowing that it was the only thing I could do as a pillar of fire was burning inside my stomach.

"Wait, I saw a black leg with a red tip when I was tripped, and you obviously don't have one," I explained, grinding my teeth even harder.

"I'll get to that part in a jiffy." I gave a deeper growl as she mocked me.

"Also, Cilan wasn't the one who threw you at the wall, I did!"

"That was Cilan though!" I screamed with a cracked voice, seeing that the berry that Cress gave to me earlier didn't help much. I wanted to jump at her and give a furious assault to see how she would like it!

"Hold on for a second eager beaver. I also saw you passed out on a counter earlier, and when Cress and Chili had to leave for a second so they could relight the fire in that resting room, I quickly kidnapped you." That explained why I was here in the first place, and kidnapping, seriously? I felt some motivation edge me on, and I crawled forward. A sharp pain then stabbed my side, and I was forced to stop.

"Tsk, tsk, fine, I'll show you now." Noctowl then jumped up with her talons and flipped in the air like a wheel rolling down a hill, than she was a blur of pink, but when the spinning stopped, a Noctowl didn't come back down but it was a Zorua! A trickster Pokémon that is mostly black with tips of red on the head, above the eyes, and tail. It also looks like an ebony scarf was around her neck.

"Well now it makes since," I admitted, setting that burning anger aside. The confused faces on Shadow and Zeke told me that they had no idea what we were talking about.

"I was also many other people. For instance, today I was that noctowl, an arbok, a haunter, Shadow, and Velvet, also known as that mysterious Purrloin that has been following you and causing so much mischief. Also, my name is Illusion, and for your record, I'm not a girl, sometimes people confuse me for one." Shadow looked freaked out, probably because most of those transformations might have to deal with something about what happened to him.

He explained the stories about what happened to Shadow to Zeke and I, and he told the story about what happened to me so that everybody knew what was happening. He also explained that he had been watching Shadow and Zeke ever since they started their trip. He said he was a member of Team Plasma and he also said that Shadow and Zeke are brothers.

"Oh yeah, and I was many people along the way on your trip. I was one of the professors in the lab when you stayed with Juniper, I was one of those patrat that fled when you defeated the pack, I made you able to trust humans, and I was also Emily." I didn't know who Emily was, but Zeke seemed to be really steamed up. "I was sent in the middle of the battle as a combee because you would have possibly failed, so I stepped in to help you. I than made up the excuse of having to go back to Floroma town, to get away from you."

"So I guess that is all that is needed to be said, so about further ado, I'm here to kidnap Zeke since we still need that color of his still for a plot." Illusion had spinned like a pink wheel once more. He transformed into a big blue dragon with red wings, also known as a salamence. The main thing that I couldn't understand was that she could use moves of the Pokémon she is when she transformed, but normally, they just have illusions, but these are real.

His red wings flapped furiously and he was lifted off the steel ground in a crazy frenzy. He gave a menacing growl, and then at a strong speed, the illusion fox had adjusted its wide wings, and it dove straight for Zeke when I started to see blotches of black.

**Illusion's POV**

This was going to be a ball in a park. At an alarming speed, I dived straight for the idiotic Pokémon, and watched him flinch in fear. Ghetsis would be pleased for me getting this Pokémon so fast. I smiled as my claws extended with my dragon claw and was about to clench him in my long, thick claws. Inches away from my target, I heard a huge blast come from behind me, making me lose concentration. I repositioned my tail and wings so I could stop flying at my incredible speed, and quickly turned around with a ball anger resting in my stomach. A huge whole had been made in the steel wall, and I saw many twisted pieces of steel lying down on the ground. I saw the metallic fortress hover in the sky as a savage blizzard caused a frigid cold to blow in. Oh no, I was out of time, they were here so I could get a quick getaway.

"No, I need more time!" I screamed at myself, furious. I couldn't keep the boss waiting, and when I turned around, I saw Zeke and Shadow ready to put a brawl on.

"We'll settle this next time you morons, and don't think I'll forget," I warned. I hesitated to fly away into the raging blizzard. There was going to be a punishment alright, and then when I mustered up my courage, I flew toward the flying ship, awaiting my torture for failure.

**Shadow's POV**

That coward! Just when I was able to get into a serious battle, he flees toward that floating tin can! If only I could fly like that Pokémon, I would teach that egghead a lesson in a sky battle! My eyes was glowing a fiery red as the dramatic action made my claws clench into a tight fist. About to go after the fleeing faker, I knew that this could have been some kind of taunt. I took a deep breath, and stopped, stopping my growing rage.

Now that we were all safe for now and allowed to heal, I enthusiastically limped toward Rachel. She had passed out within the last few minutes. I touched her, about to pick her up, but then I felt woozy. A nauseous feeling swooshed around in my stomach as I saw pure darkness. The familiar streak of lightning was followed by the burst of bright light.

It was another weird vision. I saw Rachel on a rock in the middle of some ocean. A burst of water hit her by an anonymous source, and she slipped off. She sank through the water, and she drifted out of sight.

The stuff that followed after the vision happened and I came back to reality. I was breathing heavily, and on the verge of passing out. What was that?! Did Rachel just drown in the ocean? Could this have been the future? I remember the last three. One took place in the past and two were in the future. Could I have another one of these dreams? Oh no, Rachel was in danger, and my eyes grew heavy at the thought. I wanted to stay up and get out of the way of the cold coming from the hold in the wall. I would surely lose a lot of body heat if I passed out here, but when I took my first step, my foot grew numb and I slipped to the floor, slipping away from reality.

**Author's Note: When Illusion explained the info about watching Zeke and Shadow their entire trip when everybody was awake, he left out everything about the chosen one and about him knowing about Shadow's powers and everything else like that. **


	8. Back on the Road

**Rachel's POV**

I knew that I was now conscious once more, but my eyes were sealed shut. A numb pain came from my broken leg, and a nauseous feeling had lingered in my stomach. I used my aching paws to scratch at my eyelids to unseal them. Finally, I was able to open my eyes, and I then noticed that I was in some roughed up room.

The room had this worn down, dull white wallpaper. I was lying down on a rough, brown pillow, even though the pillow didn't feel like one. There was a wooden, white painted floor and around the room I saw mahogany counters that had needles, bandages, and other medical care lying carefully in an organized pattern. I heard unfamiliar, agonized voices from other parts of the mysterious room. I saw ragged up curtains covering over dirty glass windows and I was hardly able to detect many other injured Pokémon on the same kinds of pillows as mine. Many of the Pokémon were of species I had never seen before.

I knew where I was now; I was in a Pokémon center in the emergency room. Some reason the drafty room was overflowed with injured clients as the room was crowded. I couldn't remember how I could have even got into the unhygienic room. Last thing I remember was spotting a dragon Pokémon flying toward Zeke, and then my memory went blank. What was the dragon Pokémon doing in the first place? I tried to recover my memory as I brainstormed to think about what the hell was going on.

That's right; it was after Zeke to take him to Team Plasma for his unique color. I remembered that what I remembered was a salamence wasn't really a salamence, it was a zorua nicknamed Illusion. He retreated to this giant ship that floated in the sky, but what happened after that? What could that mysterious floating fortress even be capable of doing? I wanted to jump up on my four furry legs, and run outside to see what is keeping these mournful Pokémon in their tragic state. If only I wasn't so bruised up, I could do exactly what I wanted to do. My wounded tail drooped and lagged around on the wooden floor and my ears lowered, knowing I was incapable of getting to the bottom of this mystery. If I ever wanted to get back to full health, I had to rest, despite my strong will of discovering the problem of the surplus patients. I relaxed my head as I closed my eyes and I forced myself to sleep.

**Shadow's POV**

My eyes were being dragged down as I tried desperately to open them from their sealed state. I had to use my own two hands to break that green stuff that sealed my eyes shut, and it revealed that I was in some worn down room. There was brownish, white wallpaper with a wooden white floor and this annoying draft was flowing through the room. I heard desperate cries of pain come from many anonymous sources, and they were lying down on these uncomfortable pillows just like I was. The glass being shadowed by the torn curtains needed to be cleaned as dirt was smudged onto it carelessly. I saw some counters made of mahogany that had cautiously organized needles and medical supplies stacked on the occasional wood. The first thing I thought was that this place needed a maid and deserved to be shut. This was some kind of room for Pokémon healing, but it was surprisingly crowded. I felt sudden memories flash into my mind as instant anger flushed into my system.

Illusion, that cowardly imitator; my bloodshot eyes had more shades of red from my fury and my weak arms got a sudden burst of strength. Immediately sitting up, a sudden pain struck my stomach and spine and it made my anxious body fall back effortlessly to that jagged pillow. With some effort, I checked my stomach and was reminded of that deep slash from the powerful iron tail of that cheating know-it-all. Anger had consumed my eyes even more as remembering when I was willing to give it my all even in that bristled position, but for some reason it just flew off. Was it trying to make me outraged with this kind of hatred? Did it mean to make me start to act like this? Was this just a piece of that guy's plan trying to get me into a violent tantrum? Was I just overreacting to this? I tried to calm down my nerves again as I washed away those feelings of ire and hatred.

Why should this even affect me at all? I would come face to face with him once again, and I could just release the fury on him right then and there. He probably would have a good explanation since me li him say those words.

"_We'll settle this next time you morons, and don't think I'll forget."_

We would soon see each other again at some point in time. When that time comes, I would want it taken place during a stormy night with clouds filled with lightning and the thundering booms of the thunder. It would make the scene of me defeating him more dramatic and even more worthwhile.

Now I had to get back to that current situation. Why was there so many Pokémon here? Where was I? Where were Zeke and Rachel? All I knew was my tiny legs were all wobbly. I continued the inspection around the perimeter, and noticed above a steel door was a red plus sign. Wait a second, a red plus sign, injured Pokémon, medicine and needles, this was a Pokémon center. I wanted to scream as the terrifying building had encased me. My number one fear in the entire universe was Pokémon centers. I had no idea why, but every time I was near one, my skin crawled and quivered and I couldn't control my actions.

Like a hurricane, fear washed over me, drenching me in horrifying terror. My heart pumped blood faster than usual and I uncontrollably grabbed onto my chest in the area where my heart beats. Arms shaking, I attempted to stand up again, but I fell back on the pillow that had kept that hard exterior and I gave out a painful moan. My quivering tail shoved that stupid pillow to the side so I was sitting on the wooden floor. As I predicted, it was cozier than that brick that you call a pillow was. My untreated wound was shouting at me to rest, but fear started to consume me, letting fear take over my body whole. I allowed my body to drop to the ground, and my arms that were just out of my grasp started to drag me away toward the steel reinforced door. I knew that the door would be locked tightly, and there was no way that I would be able to even make a dent in that material, but when I started to inch my way toward the door, I was able to control my body once more.

Why did I have to be so feared of Pokémon centers that sometimes I couldn't control what I did? It's not like I was feared of scared of healing by human techniques, but maybe it had something to do with my linked past of hatred for the humans. I now see that these two leggers were now not so bad, but how come I couldn't even take a step near one without tension building up inside me? This mystery might have never been solved, but when I tried to carry my body weight back to where I had awoken, a sharp pain stinged my back and I collapsed to the wooden planks for the third time. Heavy eyes informed me that I was about to drift off again from the pain, and I quickly fainted from the intolerable pain.

**Zeke's POV**

The room I stood in had counters made out of gravel and strong walls covered with a light white paint. The tile floor was waxed so it shined brightly against the overhead lamps glow upon the white tiles. I had watched as the doctors inspected me on the steel cart for any signs of damage from the attack. They checked both sides of my head while Cilan stood in the background. Memories came flowing back as I had remembered that Team Plasma attempted to capture the towns' Pokémon in the result of failure of capturing myself, so good thing the towns' people retaliated by attacking the levitating fortress.

Retreating was Team Plasma's wisest decision of the day, and unfortunately, most Pokémon were attacked by Illusion, so they came in to be healed. They had to check every Pokémon to make sure everyone was still intact. Good thing that when they attacked the Pokémon center to easily capture injured Pokémon, they only slightly scorched the waiting room and all the medicine and medical equipment wasn't broken in the process, besides a few needles and a lot of bandages. Greater yet, they didn't destroy or affect any of the other Pokémon center rooms, so the room I was being checked up in wasn't altered in any way.

Finally finishing with the check up and with a few shots in my arm, they picked me up and gave me to Cilan. He gently carried me in his arms grasp, and I saw a nurse leave for a minute. No later did she come in with Rachel and Shadow. They were passed out, but soon they would be healed. I wonder if Shadow would be alright with his fear of Pokémon centers if he woke up.

_30 minutes later…_

When all the proper medicine was applied to my only real friends, the doctors gave them both to Cilan and he held onto us with a grip. Cilan walked out of the undamaged, mostly white room with us all in a lose grip. He walked out into the snowy day, than placed me down in the snow while he still had his arms around the unconscious pair. He smiled at me, as if he wanted me to understand something, but I couldn't tell what he meant. He headed back toward the restaurant in the snowy day, and then I saw that huge hole.

In the side of the restaurant, the huge hole created by the floating ship was huge. People with these blue hats and motorcycles surrounded the scene. I saw a few people talking to the blue hat people about something, but they were too far away for me to hear. I followed Cilan back to the restaurant through the rigid snow. My feet now numb, I had to slow my pace with the frosty cold nipping at my hands and feet. Finally after walking about a block which seemed like forever, Cilan opened the door to the restaurant slowly, and I dashed in while my skin quivered from the cold. Somehow, the weather went from a weak sleet to a glacial frost. I saw the tables in the restaurant were vacant, knowing that the place was temporary closed.

I pushed the doors open into the kitchen, and walked into the resting room with the green haired guy. Rachel and Shadow were carefully placed down on a different white pillow, and then Cilan left the room. He didn't come back till about five minutes later with some food. In each hand he had two green bowls that was filled with Sitrus berries and was blanketed in a sugar coating. It was going to be healthy and delicious at the same time! He settled the dish in front of each of their beds, then walked off, but didn't come back.

I saw that Shadow had a bandage wrapped around his thighs and he had some of bandages wrapped around the left corner of his head. Rachel had some band aids mostly around her matted fur near her back and a cast shielding one of her back legs from any more damages. She also had a neck cone around her for some reason.

I curled up carefully on Shadow's pillow with him, hoping some extra body heat would help him get better faster. I allowed my eyes to close, and I fell into a deep slumber fast, as if I was dying for some sleep.

_An unknown time later…_

My eyes refused to open, so with some strength, I forced them to open with sheer willpower. I noticed I wasn't on Shadow's pillow anymore, but one next to Shadow's. Shadow and Rachel weren't on the pillows for some reason. I forced myself to stand up and I made a long yawn, than I stretched so my limbs wouldn't start to ache. I searched around the resting room, and when my search was of no use, I ran off into the kitchen.

I noticed that no one was in the kitchen either, so I ran through into the dining room. There were fancy tables with cushioned chairs, but no living beings. Frantically I called out,

"Rachel, Shadow, where are you?" My pathetic wail was proved useless as no one replied, but where could everyone have gone? Wait, how long was I sleeping anyway? Maybe I could have been out for a few hours, and they left on the trip without me. I resisted the urge to shed a tear at this thought, but shrugged it off. There was no way they would leave me like this; Shadow will always have a place in his snake heart for me! The thought about being left behind was devastating, but Cilan and everyone else were gone too, so something else must have been going on!

I dashed out of the front doors of the restaurant, and it was still a bad snowy day. It somehow got even more freezing, the cold already nipping at my skin. I hesitated to head back inside, seeing how warm and cozy it was even though it was vacant. I didn't care anymore about the weather and that howling wind, so I pushed forward into the snow.

Where could they have been? There were many places here in Striaton city. I remembered something about a dreamyard and a trainer's school, but why would they go there? There were tons of apartments along each block and a Pokémon center, but why would they go back to the center and why to some random house? This brain teaser was even harder as I stood in the middle of the road, some people edging their way through it, but I remained undecided of where my destination would be. A thought stuck me, and I remembered the one other place that they could possibly be: the garden. There was a garden in between this city and Route 3, but leaving it as my only option, I trotted westward.

Piles of snow were upon every block as lazy people poured heavy bags of rock salt into the street. Some people were able to shovel the snow off their front porch, but the steady storm made the snow cover it once more. People were shielding themselves from this frigid cold by wearing heavy clothing, but even that wouldn't protect them. Many of the two-leggers headed back into their apartments and housings, too cold for them to hang outside, leaving me alone and the only one who tempted the cold, in the search of friends.

I finally made it to the garden to reveal it empty. The ponds were frozen with the leaves of the trees missing in the day. I didn't find any of my friends as my search had failed. The thought of being left behind stormed its way back into my mind, and my tail drooped. They must have left, and the tearing pain inside me was about to make my heart split. I only had a few people in my life to watch me, but now it was all gone. In the upcoming blizzard, I headed back to the restaurant, knowing there was no use of staying out here in this vile weather.

Tripping along the way in sadness, my face kept getting chillier with every fall, and same as my heart. Was this what Shadow felt when he was abandoned by his parents? Was this the pain that he felt? Slowly waltzing toward the warm, empty building, my face was filled with sorrow. I wanted to be angry, but couldn't in this state. There was nothing to be angry for except for me sleeping for an unpredictable amount of time. Finally back inside, the warmth spread through my body, and made my expression of grief kind of wash of my face.

I knew there was nothing to do. The entire kitchen Pokémon staff was missing, every cook was gone, and my only friends abandoned me. I walked into the resting room to reveal a missing fire in the hearth, and with a sudden chill filling the room, I curled back onto the earlier pillow I had awoken from earlier. Curling up, a little less drowsy, I closed my eyes and fell back to sleep in a deep sorrow.

_Another unpredictable time later…_

I had awoken in a less drowsy state, and I heard fond murmurs around the room. Opening my eyes, I saw Pokémon filling the room of the restaurant. _What in the world, _I thought. I jumped right off the pillow to see what all this commotion was about and where it all came from. It was all the restaurant Pokémon, chatting, and they had bandages, casts, and everything like that. I also spotted the three cooks of this restaurant, plus Shadow and Rachel in their own conversation. I sighed with relief upon seeing the lillipup and snivy. They had all that medical stuff off like casts and neck cones, but still had some band aids on. I also saw a few strangers in the room chatting up a storm. I dashed up to Rachel and Shadow with my tiny feet as fast as they could carry me, and tripped and accidently pushed the two away from each other. I got back up, and asked,

"Where were you guys earlier, and what's going on here?"

"Well we were just waiting for everyone else to get healed at the Pokémon center," Shadow replied.

"And we are just having a celebration for surviving that little, exertion, and we left you behind because you wouldn't wake up; you've been sleeping for days," Rachel followed.

"Well you could at least have left a note," I complained.

"How could we, I can't write with these stubby paws. I can't even read!"

"Yeah, and even though I have fingers, I don't even know how to write." For a second it was silent, than we bursted out into a laugh. Finally after we stopped, we chatted for the rest of the party. I told them that I thought that they left without me, and they laughed at me. They explained that there would always be a place for me in their heart, just as I thought.

The party finally ended when it was dawn, and by sunrise, Cilan literally shoved us out of the front door. We were all on our way as the garden as the reins of snow storms had finally ended, and all the snow had stopped falling and remained sustained to the earth. When approaching the garden, I noticed a depressed look on Rachel's face.

"Rachel, what's the matter?" I asked in concern.

"It's just I lost my red scarf during that unexpected battle, and I had that scarf ever since I was born. I also kept an everstone in it so it keeps me like I am today." When I was about to reply, Shadow blurted out,

"I used to have an everstone back in Eterna forest, but this combee attacked us and they took it." I remembered that epic battle that had ensued.

"Hey Rachel, I think I know where your scarf is," I told as an expression of hope appeared on her face.

"Follow me," I told, and they both followed, but Rachel ran right by my side through the snow. What I recall from last time, I had Rachel's scarf in my hand after I picked it up on the blood stained counter. I was still holding on to it in that chamber, which a big hole was blasted into, and I didn't remember anything after that with the scarf, so it has to still be there! I started running faster back to the restaurant where that huge, ragged hole had stood. There was no one the chamber with the big hole at the moment, but a yellow tape line surrounded it and those blue hat guys and some other people stood outside it. I narrowed my eyes, and saw something that was a bright red. It was long and dirty, but I could tell it was Rachel's scarf.

"It's over there Rachel," I announced as she was about to run up to it, but hesitated in front of the blue hat people.

"What's wrong," I asked, confused by her actions.

"See those guys in the blue hats over there?" I answered with a nod.

"Well they are called cops, and whatever is behind the yellow tape, stays behind the yellow tape." Worrying about having no options to get the scarf, Shadow blurted out,

"Hey, I have an idea," We gathered around, and Shadow told us a plan that just might work, but Rachel acted a little fussy about it.

"There is no way I'm going in there," she exclaimed.

"Well do you want that scarf, or don't you?" I asked. She gave a sigh, than she ran toward the crime scene.

**Rachel's POV**

With my fluffy paws, I started to run up to the chubby cop who was relaxing in a beach chair, sleeping on the job right next to the restaurant, with a few unpacked boxes behind him. I stalked toward him, and then quickly made a quiet dash behind his chair, and he remained motionless. Jumping onto a box, I heard a crack noise from inside the box. My heart came to a standstill and stopped in my tracks when the officer started to move.

"Uuh, I didn't mean to take the last d-donut," he quietly mumbled, than he rolled over a bit, than I started to hear loud snoring. What a gargantuan spas. I felt my teeth grind together while I jumped up two more boxes till I was near the guy's head, and hat. I reached my jaws cautiously toward the guy, and snatched his hat from right over him. For a second I heard a loud roar, but it was just the sound of the pathetic man's snoring. I revealed one of the main reasons this guy needed a hat; he was bald. I jumped down from the boxes with a silent thud, and the lazy guard still laid there. I looked over at Shadow and Zeke, and they were giving silent cheers. I ignored them and continued to the second action of the plan.

With a cunning gesture, I threw the hat into the air and jumped back and held my head high as the hat made a perfect landing on my head. Now looking like a police dog, I stepped into the crime scene. A few officers were coming back past the tape, but everyone seemed to be falling for my fake disguise. I acted casual for a second, than when I was near that red scarf; I quickly bit hard into its fluffy exterior, and ran out of the yellow tape border, hoping no one got suspicious.

I twisted my neck, and that stupid police hat was thrown off my fluffy head. With the scarf in my muzzle and being in front of Shadow and Zeke, I raised my head high in pride. I suddenly felt a strong tug unpredictably rip the beloved scarf out between my jaws, and with my ears raised high, I saw Zeke with it wrapped around his scaly neck.

"Hey look at me I'm Rachel! I am wearing this little red scarf around my neck so I must be," he said in a girly voice. I couldn't tell if he was mocking me or if he was just joking, but a suspicious feeling was leaned over to a taunt. I made a low growl as I pounced at him, knocking him down on his back. Shadow just made a weak giggling sound, and I realized that he was actually joking around, so I released him from his pin and his weak struggling came to a halt.

He sat up and blinked twice really fast, than questioned in a frustrated voice, "Hey, what was that for?"

All I did in response was turn around and push him back to the dirt with my hind paws, creating a small dust cloud. Zeke sat back up, and then a second later, we were all in a laughing fit. It was pretty funny and was getting rid of some of the tension. Finally, Zeke got up and I decided that it was enough laughs for now. I ran off into the western direction, heading toward the snowy garden, a howling wind blowing through the air. Shadow and Zeke chased after me, but they weren't fast enough. I ran ahead of them in a pinch, and when I stopped and swiveled my head around, they were only by the Pokémon School while I was already standing in the cool breeze of late-November. Finally they caught up, and I kicked a pile of snow onto Shadow. He didn't take it as easy as Zeke did for his high temper and dark personality. I just made a small chuckle, and then we all continued onto Route 3 with some danger, excitement, humor, and drama mixed together and all in the past.


	9. Just a Munna Mishap

**Diamond's POV**

My eyes were weary as I awoke from the deep slumber with some sudden chill. I could see a blurry collision of leaves and twigs while a big brown figure remained standstill in front of me and a lot of white. My fuzzy vision slowly subsided and I noticed I was in a small hole in the middle of a group of bushes. I saw Falcon sleeping and using my tail as a pillow and a thin layer of snow was covering everything. A shot of low anger flooded my bloodstream and with a heavy temper, I lifted my numb arm and smacked him hard on his head. He immediately snapped awake from his pathetic dream scape and I gave an annoying glare at him. In intimidation, he gave a weak grin with those canine teeth and backed away as far as he could in the small space making some snow on his fur slip off.

"What are you doing, get out here and see if anything is happening!" I demanded as his ears pricked up, and he gave a slight nod before he jumped out of the snowy shrubs. Seconds later, he came back into my eyesight, and then beckoned at me to follow, so I jumped up and shot out of the fore bush. I saw that Falcon was struggling to get out of the lines of bushes while when I sprang out; I landed perfectly on my own four paws in the middle of the amusement park, landing softly in a pile of powdered snow. Finally he got out with a few scratches, probably from the sharp branches within the shrubs, and he gave that same, stupid grin. I gave him another creepy stare in a weak outrage, and he backed away.

We were now in Nimbasa city and the police were surrounding the big gap in the sidewalk made from my tail earlier, but any traces of us were covered up like a fossil from the snowy ground. I ran up to the side of the fencing, unseen, and saw some ravishing water. My hopes of the ocean being frozen were drowned away upon seeing the salt water was barely able to resist this frosty cold. I had a plan that if the ocean was frozen, we would jump onto the ice and somehow walk across it to Nacrene city so that the people wouldn't see me, since I was rare in this region. I also didn't want to go by the desert or else we would be found and tell that we had failed the mission.

I than saw something odd that created an idea, we could go in the Ferris wheel and check to see if there was any other way to get out of the desert and toward our destination. There was some bar that blocked the way inside, but I think that I could crawl under it, or at least jump over it. I scratched Falcon with my dull, ebony claws and he looked at me in annoyance, I used one of my dirty paws to point to Ferris wheel, and then I ran toward it. Falcon followed close behind, so when we were there, I assumed that he had the same idea. There weren't any people around, so I gave it a try. I couldn't crawl under these metal bars, so I backed up and jumped as the howling wind ran through my silky brown fur.

I landed with a tumble, and got up, brushing myself off for that hard landing. Falcon was hesitating about jumping over these metal bars to get over here, so I yelled,

"Falcon, get over here you giant fur ball!" He then had an expression of shock on his face, but he stepped back, and he jumped, but it was incredible. He ran at such a high speed, his whole body seemed to be blurry and as soon as he jumped over the bars, he went a little further and went down this hallway behind me and rammed into a Ferris wheel cart. It was quick attack he learned! It was quite an impressive move, but almost every Pokémon knows how to use it. I trotted after him, barely impressed. I even know quick attack, or at least I knew it a long time before he did.

"What are you sitting around for, move out of the way!" I demanded since he was blocking the entrance to this cart thing. He got back up and jumped onto a black cushion that was layered inside, and with a cruel attitude, I quickly pushed a gray lever nearby with my hind legs and jumped into the cart, shutting the steel gate door behind me, impressed with my own skills.

I sudden rattling sound echoed through the empty coaster, and then I could feel slowly Falcon and I getting lifted up into the atmosphere. Slowly after, we were being carried up to the top, perfect for us to be able to see a way out. I saw the unfrozen ocean, the accident, I think a small trace of a building in Castelia city, but nothing to help us get out of this damned city, except for a bridge, but the only way to get there was blocked by the cops. It left us no choice but to just wait for the right moment when no one is around the scene, and scurry on out of there.

When he reached down, I shoved the gate open with a hard head butt, and since this wasn't a move, it left a small bruise on my forehead. When jumping out, I had Falcon in my grasp and he tumbled out with me. Quickly, I dropped him out of my mouth and used my hind legs again to push the gray lever back to where it stood earlier. A clank sound echoed, and the Ferris wheel stopped, making a cloud of silence wander through the air. As quiet as a snowflake gently falling to the ground, I carried Falcon in my jaws and stalked toward the exit when I noticed a few humans drinking out of porcelain cups on the other side, by a park bench.

I quickly but quietly jumped out and over the metal bars when everyone was looking away. With a swift gesture, I flipped over, my silky, brown fur feeling the enriched air. Over, I heard voices that were definitely unfamiliar to me.

'I just saw an eevee!'

'I think it had something in its mouth!'

'This is a golden opportunity!'

'We have to go after it now!'

'Yeah!'

Worried with a thousand questions rocketing through my head, I dashed through the bitter snow and pounced into the earlier, snowy bushes, hearing faint footsteps trace ahead.

**Rachel's POV**

Snow lightly fell to earth and everything seemed peaceful again. Beautiful piles of snow were layered out in the field while we passed by two buildings, full of kids and Pokémon. This must have been the daycares I have heard about, they were daycares for kids and Pokémon, and even at a young age, the kids could have Pokémon. A playground with a huge sandbox and a shiny new slide were right next to the kid daycare, while a lunar white fence next to the Pokémon daycare kept all the other Pokémon from escaping and wandering off.

"Hey, what's that?" Zeke blurted out as he stopped in his tracks. He used his puny grass finger to point at the daycares. Shadow looked at him and explained, and for some reason it took a while which annoyed me and I started pacing, and we continued on the dirty route when finished.

"Hey, do you hear that?" Shadow asked as he also stopped dead in his tracks near a crossroad. My ears pricked up in curiosity, and then I heard a faint scream from some kid back at that daycare.

"Oh come on Shadow, you are starting to act like Zeke now," I exclaimed.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" he asked with a hint of anger in his tone, and I just sighed.

"Well I swear I heard something else!" Shadow yelled like a two year old.

"Can you even hear yourself talk; you are now even sounding like a toddler." We just laughed, and I could see behind that reptilian skin really was a heart, and it was starting to bloom. Shadow was finally learning about the fun parts of life he had never known about before.

I could tell by their confused expressions on their snake faces that they were clueless about where to go. I gave a deep sigh, and sniffed around to see if there was any hint of our next destination; Nacrene city. I took small steps forward, and nothing could tell me were which way we needed to go. All I could pick up was a few scents of Pokémon trainers and some psychic type, but they wouldn't help us get there.

"Hey, where is it Captain Rachel?" Shadow asked with a deep scent of sarcasm when he called me captain. I frantically looked both ways, and chose the path to the right, near a cave.

"Uh, um, this way, it's by that cave over there!" Before I could hear their clutter of questions, I ran off toward that direction, leaving them in my dust.

I ran, but all my paws ran on was empty air. My eyes grew wide in surprise as I watched myself lift off the ground. Being lifted off the ground, I struggled for freedom. What was doing this, why was it doing this, why are Shadow and Zeke just standing there in awe as I was being taken off by some unknown creature? All these questions zoomed by one after another, but before I could think any more, I dropped to the ground, and something pink and purplish showed its face, but then a burlap sack had captured me, and I knew that struggling would just make this situation worse. I started to look for some weak spot that I could claw or bite at, but then something heavy smashed down on the sack from the outside, and slowly, I fell into an unconscious state.

**Shadow's POV**

_An unknown time later…_

Awoken with the throbbing bruise left on my head, I noticed I was in some dark room. I saw some sunlight peek out through cracks of old wood, but everything else was blanketed in a world of darkness. I heard some muffled voices in the distance, close to me, but when I tried to move, I noticed that I was tied against a log of wood with a bundle of rope, unable to move. I attempted to get free, but that just made it feel like the ropes were getting tighter and started to create rope burns. My tail was starting to create an annoying ache while it was tied behind me.

My blue eyes scanned through the room while I tried to find out where I was. I saw a damp dirt floor with a few patches of dead grass, so that indicated that I was outside. The area was tight together, as if I could touch the wooden floor that sat above me if I wasn't tied together like a knot. I struggled to get free once more, but ropes burned my thighs, and I stopped trying to get free, knowing that each attempt made the ropes grow tighter. Suddenly, a weak moan echoed through the area, and my eyes grew alert. It came from my direct left, so my black and purple snake head swiveled around to get a glance of the Pokémon. It was a small tike, I'll tell you that, and then I noticed it was Zeke in a sorrow state, also tied to one of the stalks just like I was.

"Zeke, Zeke!" I yelled, wanting to get his attention fast.

He had weary eyes, but he snapped awake as I called him. His eyes snapped open just like mine did earlier. He turned from a glum look to a joyful expression upon me calling his name. He struggled in the bind of the ropes, but immediately stopped as he received the pain. I just rolled my eyes as he attempted to struggle again. He finally stopped as the torture of the ropes burned his grass body once more, and started to talk.

"Shadow, I'm so glad you are here, GET ME UNTIED!" he screamed as I could tell he was frustrated. I replied with an angry tone,

"Well I am also a little tied up at the moment!" His face that was gleaming with hope died upon my words, and that face of sorrow showed up once more. His head drooped, and we just hanged, sustained in the damp environment.

I let my hopes get crushed under this wooden roof that was sustained above us. I wondered why we were tied up under this stupid building anyway and why wasn't Rachel doing something to…

Rachel!

I can't believe it. I forgot about her! How could I even do that, forget about that fur ball? She had to be around somewhere. I turned my head to face left past Zeke to see if she was in that area. All I saw was the wood that made this place look like a room with all this darkness. I then swiveled my head to my immediate right. I saw nothing, just some lifeless leaves layered along the ground and some dirt. Then I saw it, right by the post I was tied against was Rachel, bundled up in a frenzy of rope. She was in a deep sleep, and I knew that calling out her name was a waste of my breath since it was obvious that she was under some sort of spell. She wasn't going to wake up for a while. She still had her velvet scarf wrapped around her neck, and the culprit who did this to us obviously didn't want it.

By the way, why would we be kidnapped in the first place? It isn't like any of us did any wrong-doing. We actually were helping people. We helped professor Juniper catch those crooks, we helped the restaurant owners with service, we helped Emily- oh wait, and that was the trickster, Illusion… Wait, maybe it was that stupid illusion fox that did this to us! Everything made perfect sense, besides where we were. Why would Illusion take us here?

I struggled for freedom, letting anger consume me as violence lurked out of the shadows and consumed me. I bit at the ropes with my small teeth, knowing that it doesn't do that much, but everything adds up. I continued to bite down, and attempted to free my tail from the ropes that bind them, knowing that if my tail was a little looser, I could've break out of there. My eyes felt like burning coals and I continued to struggle, not caring about the pain that engulfed my body. I chewed as hard as possible, my jaw getting weaker and tail getting rope-burned. There was no way I was getting out, not yet, not without a plan.

When I stopped my excisable struggling, I could feel a major pain on… well everywhere. It was no use… but then a light seemed to burn ahead, a pink and purplish light, and my eyes ached at the sudden contrast, and had to adjust. The light seemed to only last for a second though, and as if right on cue to my thoughts, I saw the Pokémon who most definitely was our kidnappers.

If I could recall, this Pokémon was called a munna. It looked like a pink balloon with stubby feet and purple flower marks on top of it. My head spinned with dozens of questions; I had never seen this munna before, let alone hurt or anger it enough to kidnap us.

Before any more of my thoughts could continue, the Pokémon floated toward me slowly, and it spoke in a surprisingly, soft voice.

"H-hello," it said, rather timidly. "I'm Munna."

"GET ME UNTIED YOU FLOATING PINATA!" Zeke screamed. Munna seemed to flinch at his words. What the heck was going on here?

"You can continue, Munna," I said reassuringly. Seriously, Zeke was being childish and making Munna talk was the only way to get some answers. She nodded shyly and continued.

"I'm so sorry that I tied you up. It's just… I… I need your help." I looked over at Zeke, and he was making a face of disgust.

"HELP YOU?!" Zeke started. "WHY SHOULD WE?!" You tied us up and I feel like my tail is on fire! Rachel is unconscious in the corner over there! And lastly I am STARVING!" I didn't really get that last one.

"I-I said I'm sorry. I just remember seeing w-what you did at the restaurant, a-and thought-" Zeke cut her off again.

"Thought? Yes, you thought, and I'm seriously angry right now so you better speak fast!"

"Maybe if you stop interrupting Zeke, she'll be done a whole lot faster," I scolded.

"You're on her side?! Fine, like I care, I'm so over it already." I rolled my eyes.

"A-as I was saying, I thought you could help me."

"WELL…" Zeke started… not again. "Can you at least tell us where we are first? I'm freaking out right now, and while you're at it, tell me why we're tied up!" At least what he said that time made sense.

"Certainly, we are under the child daycare. I also tied you up so if I wasn't here when you woke up, you wouldn't leave without me explaining everything."

"AND WHAT ABOUT RACHEL, WHY DOES IT LOOK LIKE SHE'S ALL BEATEN UP?!"

"She's not b-beaten up, but it might seem that way in the dark. I tied her up on the ground since it was too hard for me to do it on a stalk. Also she looked pretty strong, so I put a hypnosis spell on her to keep her from waking up and gnawing the ropes off."

"Well, can you untie us now?" I asked.

"C-certainly," she responded. Her body shined a light pink, lighting up the room partly, and then the ropes around us glowed with that same kind of light. They un-wrapped in a supernatural way, I was feeling like I was going to freak out like Zeke was.

About ten minutes later, we were behind the daycare, untied… but I felt like we were forgetting something. Oh well, it would come around eventually.

"So let me get this straight," Zeke exclaimed. "You one day had chased after a Pokémon in pursuit to defeat it and impress you trainer, and since you were really weak, it took you the whole day to chase and wear it down. Then you realized how weak you were, and didn't want to head back till you were stronger. Then when you did get a bit stronger, you tried to go back, but you were too scared to walk up to your trainer, is that it?!"

"Yes, that's all," Munna replied calmly, as if it was nothing.

"Munna, you realize that you are worried about nothing here, right?" I asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Ugh, I mean that you shouldn't be afraid to go up to your trainer. You said you left in the first place to get stronger, correct?" She nodded. "And you said you wanted to get stronger for your trainer, correct?" She nodded again. "Well that means that she won't be angry for you leaving, do you understand?" She shook her head.

"Come on Shadow, let's just knock on the door of this place with her standing on the doorstep, it's as easy as that," Zeke explained. That actually wasn't a bad idea.

"Okay, let's give it a shot."

A few minutes later, I whispered over at Zeke from around the corner of the daycare, which was standing on the doorstep with Munna, "Ready?"

"I was hatched ready," he whispered back, and he knocked on the door, making that thudding sound. He then ran over to my side around the corner of the daycare. We peeked around the corner to see the door open slowly. The squeaky voice of a human kid screamed out.

"AHH, IT'S MUNNA, SHE CAME BACK," the toddler yelled in glee from behind the grown up.

"Calm down Shirley," the grown-up said. "You'll have time to catch up, come on in Munna." Munna's face lit up in joy. She finally understood she was worrying over nothing. When they were inside and the door shut, I high-fived Zeke.

"Did you think that was a stupid thing to worry about?" Zeke asked.

"Yeah," I answered. "That was like solving where the last piece of a puzzle goes." We laughed, and walked through the empty playground to get to the route faster.

"Hey Shadow, do you feel like your forgetting something?" Zeke asked as we walked.

"Oh yeah, I felt that about a few minutes back, I still haven't forgotten about that feeling."

"Oh well, it's probably nothing." We both continued to walk together, side by side, when I think it popped back to both of us. My eyes grew wide in foolishness. How could I forget!

I turned to look at Zeke, and he did the same thing, and when looking at each other, we simultaneously yelled, "RACHEL!"

I can't believe we left her under the daycare, still tied up. How could we be so stupid?!

About 5 minutes later, we were back behind the daycare. We squeezed through a loose board in the wall to get in the dark, damp space. I saw a struggling figure in the corner; Rachel was awake, and not happy in her tied up position.

About 20 minutes later, we were back on the trail. I didn't want to describe what happened back there in detail. Zeke accidently got kicked where no one should get kicked.

"So…" Rachel started, breaking the awkward silence. "Can you guys tell me exactly why we were tied up back there in the first place?"

"Ugh," I groaned.

"Get your ears ready, you're getting one heck of a stupid story." Zeke said.


	10. The Stone

** Author's Note: Sorry about the long time without updating. I know it has been a while. I'm just busy, and now since it is summer vacation, I have a lot of time to type! Hopefully, I'll at least get three chapters of the Shadow Snivy up this summer. Everyone also really likes my other story, "Thunder and Ice," so it was hard to catch up on my other stories. I also rewrote everything in, "The BoltBlast Chronicles," and it used to be called Team ThunderBlast, so it took a lot of editing. Now I'm ready to continue this story, after so long. Well enough about my work, here it is! ~**

**Shadow's POV**

We continued walking, still on our way to our next destination, Nacrene City. It was pretty sunny out, the sun starting to sink out of the sky in the late afternoon. Despite the warm sun, snow was everywhere, a small layer of frost on the ground. Rachel, the lillipup, led us toward the crossroads, a velvet red scarf wrapped securely around her neck. Zeke, the small black-and-purple snivy, walked side by side with Rachel. I was trailing behind them, still thinking about that munna we helped earlier. The munna dragged us into a stupid situation. The munna strayed from its owner, and was too nervous and paranoid to head back, overthinking everything. All we did to solve the problem was push the munna in front of her owner's front door, and it was that easy. The problems some Pokémon have… ridiculous.

We approached the crossroads, finding ourselves in another situation. Which way should we go? One of the paths was lined with Pokémon trainers and the other one seemed to lead toward a cave.

"Well… I think we should go on the trail with all the trainers. Where there are people, there is a city," Rachel chimed in. "Any objections?"

No one spoke. "Well then, the trainer path it is!" Rachel settled. She led the way onto the path, Zeke eagerly ran after her, and I just followed right behind. Rachel then explained how to avoid the trainers, as an evasive tactic. It was that we should just sneak through the tall grass, since it seemed like the trainers were on the path. The tall grass was covered with a layer of snow, making it a bit of a pain to head through the grass.

Trainers weren't in the grass at first. It was pretty easy to get around a few loitering humans, and we had about no trouble evading the people. After a while, we took a break while no humans seemed to be on the path. We walked out of the tall grass, and walked toward a white fence. The fence seemed to perimeter a lake, which looked pretty cool. The lake wasn't frozen with the cold weather we were having. I decided to sit down and lean against the fence, still on the path. Rachel and Zeke decided to climb over the fence and rest at the edge of the lake.

"Don't blame me when you fall in the water," I warned.

"At least we know how to have fun Shadow!" Rachel annoyingly countered. "We may be on what you may call a 'mission', but I like to call it a journey." I rolled my eyes, and continued to look at the path for any trainers. No one came, but I still kept surveying the area.

I heard a loud splash from behind me. When I looked over at Rachel and Zeke, I didn't see Zeke. I quickly got on my feet, knowing that Zeke fell in the water. I climbed over the fence, about to pull Zeke out. When on the other side, I didn't see Zeke or any sign of him falling in, so I looked over at Rachel, expecting an answer from her.

"Rachel, what happened?" I questioned, demanding for an answer.

"He was yanked in, by a… I think a golduck!" Rachel reported.

"A golduck?! Are there even golduck's in Unova?!" I asked.

"Actually, there are, and that's a fact. Well forget about that, save Zeke!" she screamed.

"What about you do it, I'm not a fast swimmer," I suggested.

"I can't swim!" she revealed.

"Seriously?! I thought you would know the doggy paddle!"

"JUST SAVE ZEKE!" she hollered. Quickly, I dived into the water, my vision turning blurry. The lake was bitterly cold; making me wants to scream out in pain but I held it in. Worryingly, I surveyed the area fast, looking for anything black. I saw flashes of color from several underwater Pokémon, but nothing black. Then, a sliver of black popped out of nowhere. I didn't even know if it was Zeke, but it was a lead, so I started to swim toward it. A few seconds later, I had to breathe, so I swam up to the surface, took in a deep breath, and quickly dived down again. About every ten seconds, I popped up to the surface, and every time I head back underwater, the blurry black spot seemed closer. It didn't seem like the golduck was in a rush, which explained why I kept getting closer. As I got closer, I still couldn't classify if the Pokémon who took Zeke was really a golduck or not.

I was freaking out, like crazy. The thing that mostly freaked me out was that the golduck didn't go toward the surface to let Zeke have some air. I was relieved though, that after about half a minute, the golduck let him breathe, and I got much closer while he let Zeke breathe. It seemed like the golduck gave Zeke time to breathe every thirty seconds. That was good, but that interval was just long, especially for a little kid.

My arms felt tired after about a minute of swimming. This lake appeared a bit small when on land, but swimming in it made the lake seem huge. I just kept doing that same routine of going to the surface every ten seconds for about two minutes, and I was exhausted. I seemed to be really close, about five or six meters away, but I couldn't tell who was holding Zeke. I could hardly even tell if it was Zeke the Pokémon was carrying.

About half a minute has passed, and then suddenly, the Pokémon I was tracking had disappeared. It seemed very sudden, and a bit unreal. Confused, I swam over to where the Pokémon was just at. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but then I noticed a huge rock surface. Still confused, and with my lungs burning, I swam up to the surface. While taking in a deep breath, it was like my whole scenery change. First of all, I wasn't outside anymore, but now in a cave, with no snow. Behind me was some sort of small cave entrance, except it is only accessible by water. Also, that huge rock surface was land, inside the cave. My theory was the golduck ran up here and is heading toward somewhere in the cave.

This was bad. Really bad. I had no idea which direction the golduck went, and I had no way to track him. I jumped onto land and frantically searched around for any traces of Zeke or his mysterious kidnapper.

Nothing.

Worried, I tried to think of something in order to find Zeke. The only thing that came to mind was getting Rachel to track him, but she couldn't swim. The only way to get her over here was to carry her over. I tried to think of other ways to find Zeke, but I couldn't think of anything. I groaned at the thought of carrying Rachel all the way over here. Hesitantly, I faced the water, took a deep breath, and dived in.

**Zeke's POV**

I struggled in the grasp of my kidnapper, the Pokémon ignoring my cries of help and pleading. I had never seen this Pokémon before, or even the species, so why would he snatch me away? It was such a turn of events, from a relaxation at the lake to a sudden drag through the water. I tried to punch the Pokémon, hoping it would let me go, but it ended up that I was pretty weak.

"Let me go!" I screamed for what seemed like the millionth time.

"Shut up! It'll make sense eventually!" it yelled back. His whiskers twitched with annoyance.

"Why can't you tell me now?!" I asked.

"Stop whining! It'd make no sense if I told you now, so zip it! We're almost there anyway."

"Almost where?!"

"SHUT IT!" While he was holding me with his one arm, he slapped me in the face with his beaver tail, and told me to shut up one more time. With a pout, I did what I was told by the stranger, a little annoyed with him as he was with me.

A minute later without any talking, I heard a disturbance in the silence, a sort of moan. I became scared once more, hearing the eerie noise.

"Ghost!" I exclaimed. The kidnapper slapped his forehead, and then I heard him mumble, 'Idiot.'

"He's not a ghost you nitwit," he hissed. "He's my friend, and his name is Braviary. He… I'll explain later." After he talked about the mysterious moaning, he started to walk faster. Less than a minute later, he turned around a corner, and stopped. I wanted to be out of his grip now, feeling uncomfortable.

"Stop squirming," he demanded. I didn't listen, continuing to try and get free. He tried to make me shut up by force, like slapping me with his tail again, but I wouldn't stop. Finally, he offered, "If I let you go, you have to promise and not run away, alright?"

"Of course, Shadow's honor!" I replied.

"Shadow, who's Shadow?" he asked.

"Uh… he's a friend. Anyways, can you let me go now?" I asked. He answered by letting go of me, and fell onto the cool cave ground, landing on my stomach. I got on my feet, wiping some dust off myself, and stretched. The blue Pokémon then started to walk around the area, almost like he was searching for something. After I was done with the stretching, I sat down, waiting for him to say something.

Almost right after I sat down, the kidnapper came close to me. "Come on little one, it's time for me to show you what all the fuss is about." His temper seemed to instantly change, and he seemed a lot mellower. With a shrug, I followed the Pokémon toward a pile of rocks. The rocks were more like boulders, and they were arranged to make some sort of shelter, or den. It looked really wobbly and definitely not made from erosion.

The den was small, but it was big enough to shelter the Pokémon I saw on the inside. The Pokémon was huge, about five feet tall, way bigger than me and the kidnapper. He represented a bird Pokémon, and he had blue and red feathers with huge yellow talons. This must have been Braviary, the Pokémon the kidnapper talked about. His feathers looked real messy, and his brown eyes looked dull and lifeless. His chest heaved with effort, as if it was hard for him to breathe.

"Braviary, this is the one you were seeking for," my kidnapper explained to Braviary.

Braviary lifted his head slowly, and looked over at me. We made eye contact, and he looked like one of those wise elder Pokémon. When he turned, I saw some of his feathers were stained with blood. "Yes, you found him Dewott," Braviary moaned, his voice raspy. My kidnapper, who I now know is named Dewott, looked depressed, most likely because of his friend and how roughed up he was. Braviary looked as if he was in a major battle, and he lost, badly. I even noticed dry blood stained on the cave floor.

"Uh, can someone please tell me what I'm doing here?" I asked, my voice sounding a bit high-pitched. Braviary looked away from me, but he still talked.

"You have something heavy on your shoulders, chosen one." The words, 'chosen one,' made me recall the time when Illusion, that zorua, called me the chosen one. Apparently, it was true.

"What is with this 'chosen one' thing? I never asked for this," I remarked. I clenched my hands into a tiny fist, wishing this prophecy would just go away.

"You have been born with an unchangeable destiny. You have been prophesized from an ancient folklore to face off against evil," Braviary explained, but I didn't want to hear any of it.

"Why me? Why can't it be some other snivy?! Why is there even a prophecy?!" I blurted out, infuriated. Braviary didn't answer.

"Maybe it's for entertainment," Dewott joked.

"I am not sure, but I think the answer is buried deeper within the folklore," Braviary stated. "But forget about that, chosen one. You must carry this with you, and you must hide it from the ones of blue and red."

"The ones of blue and red?"

"They are two strong, vicious Pokémon, who will try to get the Stone of Darkness. Both of them resemble tigers, one blue and one red. The red one looks more canine then feline, though, and the blue one is the one who you will face, as told in folklore." Braviary then reached one of his wings into his messy feathers, before pulling out a weird rock. It was in a perfect sphere shape, and it was a deep dark black. It had small white specks on it, and it looked as if the white specks were floating around inside the ball, as if inside of it was part of space, full of eternal darkness with stars.

"The Stone of Darkness…" I said. I was amazed at how the stone looked like part of space in a sphere.

"You must handle this with care," Braviary warned as he rolled it over to me. I picked it up, watching the little specks float around inside the ball. "And make sure that it never leaves your side. It could lead to disastrous consequences if Team Plasma ever got a hold of it." I recalled that Illusion said that Team Plasma wanted this stone, but he never explained why.

"Why does Team Plasma want the stone?" I asked, still staring at the stone in my hands.

"They will use it on the one of blue, to give it the power to destroy the chosen one. The ones of blue and red work for Team Plasma and they will stop at nothing in order to get it. They also sent out another group, two canines, who will do the same as the ones of-"

"The ones of blue and red, I get it," I interrupted, impatient.

"Please don't interrupt," Braviary pleaded. "They are searching through this region, and they are already cornering you. The canines have already blocked you from the west, getting closer and closer to Castelia City. The ones of blue and red have gone after the stone, but once they realize it's not where I told them it was at, they will be back."

"Back? Are you saying you're all roughed up like this because of the ones of blue and red, and they are on their way back?!" I asked, worried. He gave a solemn nod. No way, if the Pokémon he was talking about could do _this _to a Pokémon like Braviary, I didn't stand a chance.

"The red and blue Pokémon knew Braviary had the stone. They cornered him in this cave, and then started to beat the cra-" Dewott started, but then Braviary interrupted him.

"Whoa, Dewott, watch the language, he's only about a month or two old."

"Hehe, sorry. Well anyways, he was beaten badly by the two. Then they demanded for Braviary to tell them where the stone was. He lied, saying it was in Mistrailiton city, near the right side of the Pokémon center. They roughed up Braviary so much that he can't fly, and he can barely move, so he can't escape, and he still can't escape. When they first saw Braviary, Braviary told me to hide because he didn't want me hurt. Also, I've been looking for you for two days and luckily I did. Only you can take the stone, and only you can get it away before they're back. We estimated it, and we theory they will be back in less than an hour," Dewott finished.

"Really? I'm like, two months old, and you are entrusting me with all this responsibility? I only know about three moves, all of them weak, and-" I started, trying to reason with him.

"Hurry, we don't have much time. You must go now," Braviary interrupted. I was still a bit shocked about all of this. I mean, how was I supposed to hide it, because I don't think I should share this with Rachel and Shadow. I couldn't win against a battle with Braviary, let alone two strong Pokémon who could easily kill him.

"Didn't you hear Braviary?" Dewott asked, interrupting my thoughts. "Hurry, go, now, now!" Alert, I started to run off, back the way I was carried. If I was supposed to face the ones of blue and red, I had to have some time to prepare. This was… very pressuring. The first thing I had to do was find a way to keep the Stone of Darkness hidden from Rachel and Shadow.

I looked around the area. I saw a rock, another rock, another rock, again another rock, and… another rock. There was nothing in this cave but rocks!

I started to brainstorm some ideas. Rachel has a red scarf, and earlier today in the tall grass, she saw a Rawst berry bush, and picked off some berries. Then, she stuffed them in her scarf, which hid them while carrying them! If I could make something like that, probably out of rocks or leaves, I could store the Stone of Darkness in it. Or maybe, I could just say it was a pretty rock I found, and then cover it with mud to make it look more normal. Also, I could make a sort of woven basket out of leaves and twigs, and just say I made it to store berries.

Narrowing down the ideas, I realized I didn't know how to weave and I had no idea how to make something like a scarf, so I went with the second idea. I grabbed some dirt off the ground, which felt very cold. I started to rub it all over the stone, hoping that it'd look okay.

After I finished smothering the stone with mud, it looked like a brown circle rock. The dirt seemed to harden around the stone, so it seemed good. It was good enough, so I continued to run back the way I came. In less than a minute, I saw light up ahead and some water, so I knew I was almost there. Running faster, I was taking in several breathes as I ran. When I was about ten meters away, I noticed two figures in the darkness, and I skidded to a stop. I nearly dropped the Stone of Darkness while doing so.

I dropped to the ground, the muddy stone tightly secure in my hands. Slowly, I crawled closer, hoping that the figures wouldn't see me. It was going to be the ones of blue and red, I just knew it. Although, they looked a bit smaller than I thought, but it could just be the darkness.

I crawled about two meters, before the figures became clearer. One seemed to be upright, on two legs with a long tail. The other one was on all fours, with a lot of fur. I got a little closer, before I groaned in disbelief. It was just Shadow and Rachel, and they were both soaked, mainly Shadow. I walked over to them, trying to act normal.

"Hi guys!" I greeted, and they both turned their heads to face me. They both seemed happy to see me.

"Zeke, are you okay?" Rachel asked, shaking the water out of her fur.

"Yeah, you had us both worried," Shadow admitted.

"I'm fine guys, safe and sound," I reassured.

"What happened, how did you get away from the golduck?" Rachel asked. A golduck, they must have thought it was a… whatever a golduck was instead of a dewott.

"Oh, it was actually a dewott and…" I realized I couldn't tell them anything about what had happened, so I quickly made up a lie. "…and, and man, this guy was weak. I think he had barely evolved into a dewott. I used my vine whip and smacked him hard in the face! He let go of me, and I tackled him in the stomach while he was still down! Then, after a slap to the face with my vine whip, I made a run for it!" Rachel and Shadow seemed to really like the story, so I decided to drag it on.

"I was running as fast as my little legs could carry me, but I knew he would catch up, since he was most likely way faster than me. So, I saw this huge boulder, and ducked for cover. I did it just in time, because seconds later, the dewott came into sight, and he luckily ran past the boulder. When I was sure he was gone, I started to head towards the cave entrance, when he came out of nowhere. He grabbed me by the tail, and I was dangling in his paws. Then I quickly thought of what to do, and used my vine whip to punch him hard in the stomach. Then when he let go, I wrapped him up in my vines, and banged him against the cave walls till he was nearly unconscious. To finish it off, I tackled him in the stomach twice, and then he passed out. I quickly ran this way, when I saw you two!" Both of them seemed very impressed, and Shadow seemed like he gained some new respect from me.

"Hey, what's that?" Shadow asked, pointing at the stone I was holding.

"Oh, this? This is a… a rock I found on the way back here. It is unusually round, and it may not be that shiny, but it's like a perfect sphere. I just want to keep it," I told, hoping he would think it was a regular rock.

"Well, okay. Doesn't look like any harm can be done with you holding on to a rock," Shadow agreed, making me smile. Now, the Stone of Darkness was safe with me.

"Great!" Rachel exclaimed. "Okay Shadow, carry us back to land!" I heard Shadow groan, angry.

Ended up Rachel didn't know how to swim, the only flaw I know about her. Shadow had to carry all the way over here, and they just barely got here. I also didn't know how to swim, so Shadow also had to carry me over.

It was painful, well, it was for Shadow, but it was okay for Rachel and I. Shadow made two trips, taking Rachel over first, then coming back to get me. By the time we were all over there, Shadow was sweating like crazy. He fell down on some snow, exhausted. The snow helped cool him down, helping his sweating.

After we rested, and we ate the Rawst berries from Rachel's scarf, we continued on the path. It was now sunset, a blend of pink, orange, red, and other warm colors in the sky. We all agreed to reach Nacrene City before we rest, since it was taking so long. All the trainers were starting to head back home, so there were no trainers on the path. We decided to just take the path, and hopefully it would lead us to our destination.

After a bit of walking, I saw another one of these weird buildings, which had some sort of electric bulletin on the inside. I had seen several of these things. One of them was separating the daycare route and Striaton City. Another was bordering Striaton City and a route, and another one with the route and Accumla Town. I think these were everywhere in this region, most likely.

We did what we always did when we approached one of these, we just walked through it. The place didn't have doors that separated it from the outside, and it was just an opening. We all walked inside, and ignored any distractions. No one was inside, except for some sort of receptionist lady that was at all the other walk-through places. When I looked through the exit, I saw buildings and warehouses, and some light from a Pokémon center. Snow had reached this town as well, the ground and buildings covered in a light frost. This had to be Nacrene City, without a doubt.

Out of the walk-through place, we decided to camp out behind the café warehouse. Apparently, Shadow knew a lot about this city. He said there was a museum which was formally a Pokémon gym, and inside it you could take over fossilized Pokémon to have them come back to life. There were also railroad tracks close by, and something called a Challenge Rock. This place seemed pretty cool, but I knew we couldn't stay long. We had to head over to White Forest, and wherever Rachel wants to go, and now there was some sort of prophecy going on, and the ones of blue and red are close. I could only imagine the horror of what those two are doing to Braviary and Dewott.

We walked over to what Shadow referenced as a café warehouse. He said that we could camp out behind the warehouse, since he said that there was some shelter over there. He led the way, leading us behind the warehouse. Immediately, I saw a huge boulder, and the inside of it was carved out. The rock represented a little den, and it seemed like it could shelter all three of us. The boulder had no snow in it, giving us protection from this unusual weather. Rachel ran up to it, entering and lying down first. Shadow followed her, and I went in last. It was cool that Shadow knew this city so well, and we had a great shelter.

Before I drifted off into sleep, I prayed to Arceus that Braviary and Dewott would be alright and would live to see the next dawn, the Stone of Darkness securely in my grip as I slept.


	11. Holiday Fun

**Rachel's POV**

A glare of light interrupted my sleep, waking me up. Slowly I got on my four paws. Remembering my surroundings, I realized I was in a caved-in rock shelter, protecting us from the bitter cold and snow. Shadow had brought us here last night, around dusk, to rest comfortably. Slowly and carefully I exited the rock without waking Shadow and Zeke, and stretched my limbs in the snow. That may have been the best sleep I've had for weeks. For a while, I've been knocked out instead of actual sleeping. Right now, it was dawn, the sun barely rising. Instead of waking Zeke and Shadow up, I decided to let them sleep, since they were probably exhausted.

The sun started to slowly rise, so I sat down in the snow, and I watched it rise till it rose a bit in the sky. Soon, it was too bright to stare at and I was forced to look away. I'm glad I had my comfy red scarf, since it helped keep me warm in this unusual snowy weather. A little while later, it seemed like it was late enough, and since they two snivy's were still sleeping, I thought I should wake them up. Walking over to the rock shelter slowly, my paws a bit numb from the snow, I first used my forepaws to shake Zeke. He was cradling that muddy round stone of his in his arms. I shook his body, telling him to wake up softly. He woke up with a yawn, and he slowly sat up, and then stretched his arms.

"It's morning," Zeke said, pointing out the obvious.

"Oh really," I said sarcastically. "I thought it was evening. Now hurry up, we need to get moving." As Zeke got up with his stone, he had to move away from Shadow, and when he did that, Shadow moved around in his sleep. For a minute, I thought he was going to wake up, but I was wrong. Zeke walked out of the rock and into the snow, and whined about Shadow sleeping. Agreeing with Zeke, and not really liking all this peacefulness, I woke up Shadow, but in a funnier way.

I walked up to Shadow, seeing him in his tranquil sleeping state. Then I smacked his head with my numb paw, hard. "Wake up!" I screamed, and Shadow bolted awake. He screamed, startled and alert. Zeke and I both laughed.

"Rachel, what the heck was that for?!" Shadow screamed, agitated. I swear I could see a vein popping out of his forehead.

"Meh," I responded, then snickered a bit. Shadow still seemed infuriated, but not as much. "Come on Shadow, we need to get moving to the next city. It took us about a day to get here, so who knows how long it'll take to get to the next city."

Shadow seemed a bit nervous. "Well, we just got here, and we aren't really in a rush," Shadow considered.

"Sorry Shadow, but the sooner we leave, the better," I explained. "Now come on. If we hang out here in the cold too much, we'll catch a cold or frostbite."

"Rachel, don't you know what time of the year it is?" Shadow asked. Confused, I tilted my head to the side.

"What are you talking about?" I questioned.

"I've seen calendars on the way here. I saw a huge decorated pine tree in the town square. There are colorful lights on the warehouses and there's snowy weather. People have special goods like cookies and brownies all over in their houses. Rachel, don't you see, it's nearly Christmas!" My eyes grew wide in surprise. Of course, that explains a lot. It's still pretty weird how it's snowing in this part of Unova.

"How much longer till it is Christmas?" I asked.

"About two weeks," Shadow answered. I groaned in frustration. Did Shadow want to stay here for two weeks for Christmas?

"Shadow, are you saying you want to stay here for two weeks?" I asked, rage starting to build up inside of me. He answered with a single nod.

"Dude, we are **not **staying here for two weeks. Maybe we can stay here for a week at the most, but not two weeks." Shadow hung his head in misery. I had no idea why he was so bummed, but he certainly was depressed. I sighed, realizing I was starting to control everyone on this trip. Shadow was supposed to be leading this trip, but I was starting to take charge.

"Sorry Shadow, I realized that you're actually the one who's the leader of this journey. You should be the one calling the shots.

"Yes!" Shadow screamed in success. I groaned, knowing that we were stuck here for two weeks. I seriously needed to get to my destination, which is on the way to White Forest. I still was keeping it a secret from Shadow and Zeke. What an inconveniencing delay…

_1 ½ weeks later…_

Zeke and I sat outside the entrance of the warehouse café, Shadow somewhere inside trying to get us something to eat. I sighed, looking up at the sky in frustration. We had been here for about one and a half weeks, and it has been torture for the last few days. Giving it a second thought, maybe I shouldn't have let Shadow take charge again. Maybe the reason I took charge in the first place was because we were getting nowhere fast.

"Rachel, why are we still here in Nacrene City?" Zeke blurted out, disturbing the silence in the air.

"Shadow wants us to stay till the end of Christmas. You know, I wouldn't be surprised if we stayed here till New Year's," I mumbled. Shivering, I looked over at Zeke, wanting to chat with him about this.

"You know, I think we should confront Shadow in an intervention, and convince him to continue this journey," I explained. Zeke nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, the sooner we get to White Forest, the sooner I get to make some new friends," Zeke agreed. Zeke had that round stone in his arms, cradling it.

"Great, because we've been sleeping in that rock shelter for way too long, and my back is killing me," I yapped, stretching a bit to help get that irritating cramp out of my spine.

Suddenly, the doors to the warehouse café slowly opened and Shadow walked out, three Soda Pops in his hands. "Hey guys, look what I got!" He opened two of the Soda Pops, giving one directly to Zeke and then he placed one on the deck in front of me. Shadow had the biggest smile on his face, and it was the happiest I've seen him since… ever. Well then again we haven't been traveling together for that long. Anyways, it pained me that I had to ruin his fun, but it was the right thing.

"Uh, Shadow, we need to talk," I just blurted out. Shadow had barely just opened his own Soda Pop, and he quickly took a sip. I continued. "We have been here for a long time, and Zeke and I have discussed it, and we think we should get back on the journey." Shadow's joyful state immediately transformed into one of surprise, shock, and depression.

"We should really continue, since we've been here way too long, and it's better for all of us," Zeke finished. Shadow still hasn't said a word, his expression filled with gloom.

"Shadow, are you okay?" I asked, starting to be a bit worried. He still didn't reply, staring at the floorboards.

Shockingly, Shadow knocked over his Soda Pop, the liquid seeping through the floorboard cracks. Then with a bit of a hiss, he jumped off the deck with a flip, and started to run off into the snowy forest. I was stunned on the spot, wondering what had taken over Shadow. He started to fade off in the distance, getting farther away from us. Then I snapped back to reality when I realized Zeke was screaming in my face.

"Hurry! We have to catch up with him!" Zeke yelled, and then he jumped on my back. "Mush!"

I didn't move. "I'm not going to move if you treat me like a mutt," I growled.

"Hehe, sorry," he apologized. "Can you run after him now?" he asked, Shadow almost completely out of sight.

"Of course," I snickered, before I sprinted after him, Zeke hanging on to my fur tightly so he wouldn't fall off. Shadow took a direct right, heading onto a path toward Pinwheel Forest. I could barely see Shadow, running with long strides towards the forest. I quickened my pace, nearly knocking Zeke off my back. Snow was flung in my dust as we continued on this hot pursuit.

Unfortunately, Shadow looked behind himself, noticing us chasing after him. He looked rather shocked to see us so close, about ten meters away. I guess I would've been shocked as well, with my amazing speed. Shadow then veered off the path, taking a left into the forest. He jumped up on a white fence that bordered this path, and then front-flipped onto a tree branch. I skidded to a stop, now in the location of where Shadow was just standing. Shadow's figure blended in with the darkness within the trees, only detectable by his movement.

"He's getting away!" Zeke shouted, using his black, scaly hand to point at Shadow's barely noticeable figure among the trees. Thinking fast, I took three steps back, then bolted forward and flew over the fence, now standing on some moist dirt, which was blanketed with pine needles. It was easy to detect that Zeke had a difficult time holding on to me during that jump.

"Zeke, follow Shadow from the trees!" I ordered. "I'll see if I can smell his scent from down here!" Zeke had no objections, and so he jumped on one of the frosty tree trunks, and slowly climbed to a sturdy branch. While he did his part, I lowered my head and walked around cautiously, sniffing the area. The snow was scattered with several footprints, too hard to see which one was Shadow's print. I could smell faint traces of some patrat, and there was a scent from a lillipup that strayed off. Also, I could smell a few tympole who appeared to have played in this area. It was a miracle that I could pick up these scents with this layer of snow in the area.

I could also smell Shadow's scent, and it wasn't that clear on the ground, but it wasn't like I could climb trees. I took in another good whiff of Shadow's scent, before I could smell a small, weak scent trail.

"Zeke, I picked up his trail!" I informed him. Zeke had barely just made it to a branch, and he was ready to start jumping from tree to tree. I started to jog after Shadow, my nose still on the ground so I could still detect his scent. It was hard to decipher which one was Shadow's, since his scent trail was cluttered up with so many others. For a minute, I had to stop because I lost the trail, but we continued shortly after the brief break. Zeke used his vine whip to swing from tree to tree, quickly keeping up with me. We took several turns around trees, rocks, and bushes, and even crossed over abandoned railroad tracks to face more trees, trudging through the snow, before it had gotten complicated. Man, enough with the action. It was like something involved either wasting time or risking my life for a while.

After pawing through the tight area of the pine trees, the trail suddenly lead toward a huge open space within the forest. Puddles were everywhere, and the grass was covered with dewdrops. Immediately I skidded to a stop at the edge of the clearing. Zeke nearly swung off a tree and almost face-planted, but quickly caught onto a branch with his vine whip. My nose picked up hundreds of scents. Patrat, tympole, lillipup, pidove, timburr, throh, and many others mixed along with Shadow's scent. My eyes were wide with surprise. It will take forever to find Shadow's scent trail again!

"Rachel, is something wrong?" Zeke asked, slowly lowering himself on the ground with his vines.

"I lost the trail, and I doubt that I'll find it," I explained, searching around for Shadow frantically.

Zeke sighed. "Why would Shadow run off like that? He's causing a huge delay in our journey."

"I thought it was weird that he knew this place so well," I mentioned. "I mean, it's a bit strange, don't you think?" We both nodded, agreeing with each other. "Now, I think we should split up. Shadow may be acting strange, but he's trying to stay here in Nacrene City till Christmas, so he most likely won't leave the forest or city. I'll look around in the city, and you can survey the area in the forest. We can meet up at the Challenge rock if we found nothing." Zeke didn't argue at all with the plan, except for the fact he didn't know where the Challenge rock was at. I quickly gave a description of where it was.

I then noticed Zeke was still holding that round rock of his. "Dude, did you seriously carry that rock all the way out here?" I asked.

"Uh, well, you always wear that red scarf of yours all the time," Zeke argued. He folded his arms, an eyebrow raised.

"At least this helps me keep warm, but that rock is just an inconvenience," I countered. I gave him a smug look.

"Hey, it's not a rock, it's a stone," he hissed. I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever," I groaned. "Great then, well good luck on your part!" Quickly, I put my nose to the ground, finding the stale scent trail of Shadow. It was covered with the scent of Zeke and me, so that made the path a bit stronger, actually. I followed my strong scent trail back toward that path. Silently, I wished Zeke good luck one more time as I ventured through the pine trees, hoping we will find Shadow. After one and a half weeks of relaxing in this snowy wasteland, it was actually feeling better to me this way, with all this excitement.

**Zeke's POV**

Now alone in Pinwheel Forest, I didn't know where to start. I cradled the Stone of Darkness in my arms, relieved that Rachel and Shadow just thought it was a rock. Every direction seemed the same, except for the direction that had stairs, manmade. It was weird that stairs were all the way out here, and they seemed to lead up quite a bit. It seemed like a start, and at least it wasn't going through the trees, where I could easily get lost. I dashed up the stairs, actually a bit excited to see what was at the top.

At the top of the stairs there was a wide clearing. I saw several jagged rocks and some of the usual tall grass. This was a certain change in atmosphere compared to the rest of the forest. The thing that mainly stood out was this huge rigid, bristly boulder. The boulder was more than twice my size, making me a bit intimidated. Timidly, I stalked up to what I believed was the Challenge rock. It seemed to tower over me as I walked up to the ancient thing. A thin frosty layer of snow lied on top of it. It was petrifying, seeing this was the biggest rock I've seen in my life. I bet there could be others just like this, but it seemed a bit unnatural for it to be in the middle of a clearing.

Snapping out of it, I knew it was a bad idea to just stare transfixed at this boulder. There could be trainers out here, and they would love to get a new snivy for their Pokémon collection. I started to choose a random direction in the trees, and then started to walk east of the Challenge rock. Venturing off, I sighed, wondering how Rachel was going. In my opinion, I think Shadow headed back toward Nacrene City. It wasn't like there was a place out here that he would retreat to, and if there was, he probably would have showed us earlier in the week.

Walking through the trees, I looked around carefully and cautiously, looking for any movement that was black like Shadow. I saw a few pidove, tympole, and lots of patrat, but nothing related to Shadow. Still walking, I entered another clearing, but my surroundings looked familiar. After a minute of more thinking, I realized I was back in the clearing with the Challenge rock. I groaned in frustration. This was going to take forever!

Interrupting my frustrated thoughts, I thought I heard… crying? It seemed distant though, but it had to be close. Maybe some pidove broke its wing or something. Shrugging, I followed the sobbing sound, seeing it lead into the trees, north-eastern of the Challenge rock. I followed the noise silently, making sure I didn't make that deadly mistake of stepping on a branch. The only reason I followed the noise was because it was my only lead on where to find Shadow.

Fortunately, I avoided the disaster of making any sudden noise, still staring off into the foliage to find out where the sobbing came from. I had to be going in the right direction, because the crying sound grew louder with each step I took. Could that, could that be Shadow crying? Oh man, that would be hysterical!

I then noticed something, a huge hole in the ground. I nearly stepped into it, and I would've slipped and fell who-knows-where if I did. I sighed with relief, and starred down the hole. The crying, it came from in there. I nearly groaned in frustration, but that would probably make too much noise. Before I checked, I made sure that I was still holding the Stone of Darkness, and then took a second glance of the hole. It was intriguing, and I had to slide down there no matter what and to just get this over with, I took a step back, and then sped fast and jumped through the hole.

On the other side, it took me somewhere underground. I fell into a small room of some kind. Not alert of any of my surroundings, I sat up then coughed out some dirt, seeing that I face planted when I entered. This place was dark, and a bit spooky, but the scariest thing about the place was the crying sound, it was deafening. My ears were about to explode, and it even made my head feel dizzy. Whoever was crying did not hear me come in through, but at least I had some time to find out who was crying before I did anything.

Silently, I started to inch myself toward the loud crying sound. The sound barely altered as I got closer, but I could tell I was nearly by the Pokémon. Soon, a shadowy figure seemed to pop out of the darkness. The shape… a snivy's shape, it was Shadow! Hesitantly, I started to talk. "Shadow?" I whimpered, still a bit afraid.

The crying sound reduced to short sniffles immediately. The figure turned around to face me, my instincts now yelling at me to run. I held my ground, wanting to see if it was really Shadow.

"Z-Zeke," he stuttered. That voice, it had to be Shadow. "I'm sorry Zeke, I shouldn't have run away." Everything was still dark, which made me feel a bit awkward.

"Shadow, is there a light or something that you can switch on, because I can barely see a thing," I admitted. I couldn't tell what Shadow was doing, but I saw a bit of movement.

"You can't see in the darkness yet? I thought you'd gain that ability by now," he assumed. Suddenly, a small light flickered on somewhere over on the right side of the room. Looking over, I saw that Shadow had some sort of small device in his hands. Shadow was holding a sort of metal container which had an ember on top of it. It lit up the room dimly. The device must have been manmade.

"What is that?" I asked.

"It's an item made by humans. It's called a lighter. I'm surprised it still works, actually. I'm pretty sure this is the same one from six years ago." He was muttering that last part to himself. The tension was killing me, what was this place?

"Shadow, can you exactly explain where we are?" I questioned, tapping my foot impatiently. Shadow didn't move for a second, just staring at the flame on the lighter as if he was hypnotized. A few moments later, he turned around, still holding that switch on the lighter. It seemed as if he had to hold that switch in order to keep the ember lit.

"This place… it's the place I lived, before I was kidnapped by humans."

**Rachel's POV**

I sighed with defeat, now aware that Shadow was nowhere in town. Hopefully Zeke found him, and was waiting for me at the Challenge rock. If he was, I knew I couldn't just leave him waiting there, so I quickly started to charge towards Pinwheel Forest. Instead of going on the normal path, I marched towards a fence, running alongside some train tracks. I charged straight towards the fence, and then jumped over it as if it was a hurdle. One of my hind paws hit the edge of fence in the middle of the jump, but I made it to the other side. I was now by those familiar train tracks I saw earlier today, saving myself a few minutes of running through the trees.

Next, I spotted a grouping of trees on my left. If I dashed straight through that, I would reach the stairs. Without a second thought, I already started to head through the pine trees, running swiftly. I could pick up a dull trail of when Zeke and I came through here, only for a second. A few minutes later, I reached the other side, my paws stained with snow and mud. To my left, I saw those manmade stairs covered with a light frost. My paws were already numb from trudging through this weather, and I still couldn't go inside a building or shelter yet. I couldn't believe I was starting to miss that cramped rock shelter.

I dashed up the stairs quickly, soon arriving at the top. I quickly located the Challenge rock which was about twice my size. Neither Zeke nor Shadow was there. I sighed, frustrated.

"Great," I muttered sarcastically to myself. "Now I have the honor to wait out in this wretched weather, freezing my tail off." I pawed over to that Challenge Rock, and once I was right next to it, I touched a part of it that wasn't covered with snow. Even without the snow it still felt freezing. Moving my paw off of it, I saw that I left an uneven snowy paw print. Sighing again, I had no other choice but to stand and try to keep as much snow off of me as possible.

A few minutes later, all I could hear was the piercing wind. If there was some other noise anywhere in this area, it was canceled out by the wind. It was weird that after one and a half weeks of no action, suddenly I was now on a search-and-rescue mission.

The howling wind stopped for a moment. Now all that remained was a still silence. Every Pokémon in the area must have been in their burrows and dens snugly warm.

Then something interrupted the temporary silence. Murmurs. They were definitely from Pokémon, and they sounded familiar. I could identify one of the voices as Zeke, I think, but I couldn't figure out the other one. The faint talking was interrupted by the howling wind. I hurried and recalled my thoughts, seeing that it came from somewhere in the eastern direction. Wanting to just get out of this cold sooner, I just dashed toward where I assumed the chatting came from. It leads into the trees.

Once I entered the trees, I tried to listen for the sounds again. I thought I heard it a second time, but if it really was them, their voices were blocked by this stupid wind. Was I just hallucinating this? I hoped not.

Then the wind was taking a small intermission. Immediately I heard Zeke's voice again, and I discovered the other voice was Shadow's, for sure. It came a bit north from here, so I quickly started to run in that direction, still in the trees. The wind already came back, unfortunately. At least I was narrowing down their positions.

Running, I saw a hole in the ground. It was some Pokémon's burrow. I was going too fast to just stop, so I jumped over the burrow, skidding to a stop on the other side. I turned around and walked up to the burrow entrance. I stared down it, seeing absolute darkness. Almost as if I commanded it to happen, a light flashed on from inside the burrow. Cautiously, I started to crawl down the burrow, hearing the voices of those two snivy's. I nearly slipped and slid through the entrance, but I unsheathed my claws and clung on. I didn't want to barge in just in case Shadow and Zeke weren't the only ones in there. Slowly I inched my way down, and soon I was on a flat surface, still in the entrance tunnel. The light inside was coming from a lighter, and I noticed that the only ones there were Shadow and Zeke. Although, who's burrow was this?

Shadow started to turn around to face Zeke. "This place… it's the place I lived, before I was kidnapped by humans," Shadow revealed. Oh wow, I sensed a story coming on.

Zeke looked stunned, unable to speak. Shadow didn't seem to notice and was about to start to talk again. "I'm guessing my parents moved to another burrow for the winter and spring, to hide from snow and flash floods. Either that or they abandoned this place."

Zeke pointed at the lighter. "Where did they get that lighter?" he asked.

Shadow didn't answer right away. It looked as if he was trying to remember it. Well I remember he said he's only been here a few weeks after he was born before he was trapped by the humans. "Well, I don't really know. Maybe they just found it somewhere in the forest. My parents didn't tell me many things. They mostly just zoned me out, calling me 'that snivy'. They didn't like me, at all. I sometimes wish that they were the kind of parents that would love you no matter what, but unfortunately they weren't." The light then flickered off after he finished. Then it slowly lit up again, flickering off a few times before it stayed.

"Sorry, I got a hand cramp," Shadow apologized. "Well anyways, I remembered that I was abandoned during a cold time. There wasn't any snow in this area, but I knew it was somewhere in December. I although didn't know what date it was, still being very young. Zeke, the reason I wanted to stay here until Christmas is because I convinced myself that I was abandoned on Christmas Eve. I'm not sure if I was or not, but I'm just rolling with it. I remember seeing colorful lights and a big tree hanged in the town square. I want to be able to stay here, at least till Christmas, because I want to know that I've been in my old home for at least one holiday. I don't know why man, I just don't know why I want to do this, but some reason ever since we've arrived here, I just wanted to stay here. Do you understand?"

Wow, this explained a lot. Like why Shadow knew this place so well, and how he was acting so strangely. Maybe we could stay till Christmas, just to get this off his conscious. After all, he let me tag along with their group.

"Whoa, Shadow, of course, if this is something you really want," Zeke said. "The only problem is that we have to convince Rachel as well, and you know how bossy she can get."

…

"Heh, yeah, I agree. Rachel nearly took over the whole trip once she joined," Shadow agreed.

…Really?

"Ahem," I interrupted, jumping out of the entrance to reveal myself. Zeke and Shadow looked startled once they saw me.

"Uh… Rachel? How long have you've been watching?" Zeke asked, sweat dropping.

"Ever since Shadow said that this was where he used to live," I replied, grinding my teeth together.

Shadow gulped. "So… heh, you just heard what we just said?" I just gave a solemn nod. Shadow and Zeke looked really nervous, and then they started to laugh. I tried my best, but I felt like laughing a bit as well. I couldn't help it and started to laugh and snickers like them. I tried to muffle my laughs with my paws, but it barely did anything.

Less than half a minute later, I was able to get my head together. Shadow and Zeke were still laughing; Shadow barely able to keep his finger on the lighter. If we were going to stay here, we needed a better source of light. Looking around the area, I saw some old straw beds and a rotten berry pile. There was nothing else, except if there was something not lit by the lighter. There were some shadows in the area, mostly in some faraway corners. Curiously, I stalked my way over to one of the corners, feeling around with my paws. In one corner I felt something with an irregular shape, very cold. I picked it up delicately by my muzzle, and then went back over to Shadow to see it in the light.

Seeing it in the dim light, it was just a piece of broken glass. A little disappointed, I let it fall to the floor. Well, if there was glass in a burrow, which seemed a bit unusual, there had to be something that it could've broken off of. Maybe somewhere else in the shadows was a broken lantern.

Looking closer at the glass, it seemed to have an interesting design, not being see-through. It had lines permanently sketched on it with varies of colors. It looked as if it belonged to a vase maybe. Oh man, Shadow's parents were some of those rare snobby Pokémon that are obsessed with human items. Just… strange.

I went back into the shadows. Looking over my shoulders, Shadow and Zeke were staring at me, wondering what I was doing. I shrugged it off, moving my paws around in the darkness. Around that same corner, I felt more pieces of the glass from what I assumed were a vase. I edged my way through the shadows before Shadow interrupted the awkward silence. "Um, Rachel? What are you doing?" he asked.

"Looking for something to… Ow!" I accidently stepped on a sharp piece of glass. It didn't get stuck in my paw pad, but it did hurt. It didn't seem to break skin. I continued to move around in the darkness looking like some sort of blind person.

"Rachel, I can see things in the dark. Do you. want me to tell you what's over there or are you going to keep scrounging around?" Shadow asked. I stopped moving, realizing that this was all in vain. I groaned, frustrated, then trudged out of the darkness.

"So, what do you see?"

"Well, a lot of broken glass from something, a few squished berries, and I think…" Shadow started to squint. "…a candle," he finished. Oh wow, perfect! At that point Shadow got another hand cramp and the area went pitch black. The light didn't flicker on till about ten seconds later, soon lighting up the small area of the room. Then I noticed that Shadow had the candle he was talking about in his hand. He probably fetched it while it was still dark. Shadow then used the small ember from the lighter and spread it onto the candle. The candle looked a bit worn out, but it didn't appear used, luckily. Shadow flipped the lid on the lighter and dropped it to the ground. He held the lit candle in his other hand.

"Phew, that feels better," Shadow sighed, stretching out his cramp hand. Zeke was starting to look at the straw beds while holding that stone of his. There were only two straw beds.

"Hey Shadow, this must be your parents old beds!" Zeke exclaimed. Shadow ignored him, done with talking about his parents. He then looked over in my direction.

"So… Rachel, since you heard about what I said earlier, can… can we stay till the end of Christmas?" Shadow asked, stuttering a bit. This was amazing. I never thought I would see Shadow in such a soft state, and now he was pleading for something from me.

"…Of course," I replied, nearly in a whisper. A faint smile appeared on Shadow's face. Smiling was a rare thing when it came to Shadow, which made it a bit worth it. Then a thought came to mind, how were we going to get food? For the last week and a half, we have been going to that café, but now it would take a lot of effort to go there at least twice a day from here. "So Shadow, is there any food close by?" I asked.

Shadow appeared to be thinking. I doubt there would be any berries still intact from this onslaught of snow, but if there was, it would be a miracle. "…Yes, but I don't think that it survived this snow," Shadow finally replied. "It's in a bush right outside the burrow, a few feet east."

I was going to go check, just in case, but Zeke beat me to the entrance. "I'll do it!" Zeke screamed as he crawled through the entrance. Soon he was gone, leaving me and Shadow alone. Shadow edged towards me.

"Rachel, I know you've sworn to me that you'd won't tell me the answer to this till we actually reach wherever you're trying to go, but can you please tell us where you're trying to go and why?" he questioned. Ugh, for the last time, I wasn't going to do this. I mean the reason is completely top secret till we reach the place… but maybe I can just tell them where it was. Maybe I'll just tell him the city.

"I'll tell you where it is, but you can't start talking about it with Zeke, and you can't bring it up once Zeke gets back, got it?" I growled. Shadow nodded in agreement.

"It's in… Nimbasa City," I mumbled, looking down at my paws. Shadow didn't say anything right away.

"Nimbasa City, you mean that place with all the entertainment places for humans?" Shadow asked, wanting to confirm what I was talking about. I gave a solemn nod. "Really, well that's not a good place for a wild Pokémon," he pointed out. "Why would you want to go there?" I wanted to shrink down and make myself as small as possible. Technically, Cilan had released me from his Poké ball and so I was a wild Pokémon, but actually… I still had a master. If Shadow found out my secret before we reach Nimbasa, who knows what regretful stuff he'd do. I couldn't tell him till we reach the city, where I'd leave them. If he found out the rest of the secret, I was so doomed.

"I said I wasn't going to tell you," I barked. Shadow opened his mouth as if to say something, but quickly shut it. He decided to leave the topic behind. A few seconds after the awkward silence, Zeke barged in the room, slipping down the burrow entrance and then falling into the room. He landed on his back, protecting that stone of his in a secured grip.

"Anything?" Shadow questioned. Zeke just shook his head. We all sighed in frustration.

I then perked up, a sudden burst of energy reaching me. "Come on guys, this isn't the time for doubt. We can just get some extra food from that café place, and store any extras here. Also any scraps we find can be good food!" I exclaimed. The two snivy's started to perk up a bit, but not that much. "Guys, come on, I'm a master scrounger. I can always find a tray with uneaten food or a Styrofoam box containing leftovers!" I continued.

"Scrounger, what's a scrounger?" Zeke asked.

"It means finding things and keeping them for free, also known as _stealing_," growled Shadow.

I got close to Shadow and got my muzzle inches away from his. I snarled, showing my dagger-like teeth. "I don't steal Shadow!" I yelled. "I mean I scrounge around for things dropped by humans. Some people call it stealing, but since they throw it away, it's technically not theirs anymore."

Zeke blinked with surprise. "Throw away, do you mean you find things in the trash?!" the little snivy screamed.

"Hey, another man's trash is another man's treasure," I quoted. "Wild Pokémon do it all the time, and I usually did it whenever my master gave me crappy junk as food."

"You mean Cilan?" Shadow asked. I started to rub the back of my neck nervously.

"Um… yeah, sometimes he just gives me… leftovers from other people's food. Usually it is just really sucky food," I quickly covered up.

Shadow and Zeke seemed to buy it. "Gross, I would've gone for the people food! It's certainly better than eating out of the trash!" Zeke exclaimed, gagging.

I headed toward the burrow entrance. Now that I had a closer look, I was surprised that I could fit through the small tunnel. It looked too small for me to go through, but I guess I managed to squeeze through. "Come on guys, are we going to go find something to eat!" I yelled. Before Zeke would push me out of the way, I climbed into the burrow tunnel and crawled my way up, soon popping up at the top. I jumped out before one of those snivy's could tackle into me.

Soon prancing out in the snow piles, I realized the one thing that I regretted. I forgot to get the snow out of my scarf and I realized how numb my neck really was.

*A few days later, the morning after Christmas*

I woke up from a rigid wind that blew through the burrow entrance. Slowly I woke up in a daze, and then stretched a bit before I started to groom my fur. The fur on my face needed special grooming every day or else it would turn into a tangled mess. Looking around, I noticed that I made the mistake of sleeping right by the entrance, realizing how the wind had waked me up from inside this burrow. Shadow and Zeke were still asleep, Shadow wearing that torn up Christmas hat we found in the trash the other day. Zeke was cuddling with that sphere rock of his. Seriously, I didn't see why Zeke liked that stone so much, he was obsessed.

That was when realization hit me. It was morning, the day after Christmas. Shadow said we could leave now, and we'd lost enough time already. If we weren't so sidetracked by this, I would probably be in Nimbasa City by now. I ran over to Shadow and then slapped him really hard on the face, my claws unsheathed. Shadow nearly jumped up and straight into the ceiling from the impact. He also had a small bloody scratch from my claws. Oh, looks like I was too much in a rush to notice that my paws were unsheathed. Unsheathed claws help with traction on icy surfaces.

"Rachel, I'm bleeding!" Shadow screamed, waking up Zeke. Zeke may have heard the screams, but he curled up into a tighter ball and tried to go back to sleep.

"Oops, looks like I got carried away, but forget about that, we need to get through this forest now before this weather gets worst!" Before Shadow could respond, I ran up to Zeke and smacked his back with my paw, making sure my claws were sheathed before I hit him. Zeke started to whine, about to ask 'what was that for' but I already ran towards the tunnel. "Now hurry up, we need to get moving!" I didn't bother to look over my shoulders, knowing that they had to follow me.

About ten minutes later, we were back on the main path. The path lead into a different section of Pinwheel Forest, making me sure we were on the right track towards our next destination, Castelia City. Soon we would arrive at that bridge that lead over to that city, and we would be that much close to our destinations. Well, at least I learned something from this whole Christmas experience.

I was never going to let Shadow take charge for the rest of the time I'm with him.


	12. Illusion's Return

**Shadow's POV**

We continued to trudge along a small cement road out in the open, snow coating everything in Pinwheel forest. I had to admit that I was feeling nervous and shaky. We needed to be in the trees taking cover with all the foliage and extra snow. It would keep us from being seen from humans, and to prevent any confrontations with anything that could become a threat. Rachel was leading the way along the path, heading towards a sturdy bridge not that far out in front of us.

I frantically looked around in the trees while we walked. It would be reassuring if I knew where to go just in case a human did come out. After looking through the area, I saw there wasn't a small place that we could just jump in, like a hole in between trees. About a minute later, I couldn't take the tension anymore and knew I had to say something.

"Rachel, come on, let's continue traveling through in the trees!" I screamed, throwing my arms in the air overdramatically. Then I folded my arms, shivering a bit from the cold.

The lillipup didn't turn around to face me, but still talked. "Shadow, we're nearing a bridge. If there's a bridge, it means so we can cross over something like a fissure or a gorge," she explained. "We need to use the bridge instead of trying to jump the obstacle. And plus Shadow, I'm going to take charge around here until I'm gone, because obviously you can't be trusted to lead us. Right Zeke?" She moved her head, now facing Zeke, who was walking beside her.

"Yeah, it was a huge setback when we stayed in Nacrene City for about two weeks. We should be at White Forest by now," Zeke agreed with an irritated expression. I could feel my frustration start to rise. Rachel and Zeke became pretty good friends over the last few weeks.

"Oh come on, that was very personal! I wanted to know for a fact that I stayed there for at least one holiday, and technically I did! Most likely it'll never happen again! Can we at least go through the foliage once we cross the bridge?" I pleaded.

Rachel looked over her shoulder, still walking through this snow. "No, we'll get out of the forest faster if we just stay on this forest path," she answered sternly.

"Hey, what's foliage?" Zeke blurted out, changing the subject. I opened my mouth and was about to answer his question, but Rachel spoken up first.

"He means the trees and greenery," she replied with a warm smile. I chose to ignore them, since they were just toying with me at the moment. We all continued to trudge on through the snow, this cold nipping at the tips of my hands and feet. Soon we arrived at the bridge to see that it was mainly made out of cement. It was a light gray color, which was a different and lighter shade compared to the road's cement, which was a dark gray. I immediately looked over the railing to see about a twenty foot drop into a ravine below. However, because of the cold, the ravine was frozen solid. You didn't need to be down there to see that it was very thick and sturdy ice. If we somehow fell, I would've preferred for the river to be unfrozen so the impact could be lightened. It was better than the alternative; colliding with the ice and breaking something in your body.

"Shadow, hurry up!" I heard Zeke yell. Thinking it could be an emergency, I looked up instantly at the duo. Ended up nothing special was happening, and Rachel and Zeke were just far ahead, already across the bridge and a little ways down the road. I was looking at the frozen ravine too long. Zeke continued to shout. "This is why Rachel is leading the way! She doesn't get so distracted like you do!" I knew he was yelling because he was far away, but it sounded almost as if he was angry. The kid had been living a tough life, growing up strangely unlike all the other Pokémon in the world. We've been fighting to survive, and he's been counting on us to live. Who knows how he was going to end up like in the future, but I did know that it was going to end up badly.

We continued to walk on. I surveyed the area in the trees for any big enough spaces that you could jump through. Technically there were a lot of spaces we could've squeezed pass, but I was looking for a place that we could jump through immediately in case of emergency. After a while I had given up on looking for a spot, but I had this weird feeling that kept me looking at the trees. It was almost as if we were being watched which just kept me alert. I continued to search around for anything unusual. There were pine trees, of course, and branches all over the ground. Pine needles littered the area and everything was covered by shadows. There was a white picket fence that blocked off the pine trees and bordered the forest path.

Suddenly I saw something on the left side of the path. There was a dark figure ducking behind the fence. I saw bits of red in its fur but it mostly was a black colored pelt that stood on its hind legs. It was about three times as big as me, but that didn't intimidate me at all, but the fact that it was watching us sent shivers down my spine. Before I could even think of what to do next, it had disappeared. The figure seemed to melt away into the darkness. I cursed myself, my night vision unable to decipher the Pokémon's appearance in time.

"G-Guys..." I stuttered, stopping in place. "Someone is following us." Zeke and Rachel turned around to face me. Zeke looked as if he one hundred percent believed me. Rachel raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure?" Rachel asked. "You better not be lying to us."

"Shadow wouldn't lie about something like this," Zeke supported, staring at Rachel. At least I knew that Zeke trusted me a little. He was after all my brother. "He must be telling the truth." Rachel gave a questionable glare at Zeke, but then she finally gave in.

"Where did you see it?" Rachel questioned, surveying the area.

"In the trees," I answered; pointing right where the dark figure disappeared. After the lillipup walked over towards the fence, she lifted her nose into the air and started to sniff around. Zeke walked over to me and we waited together.

Rachel padded all the way to where I saw that mysterious figure. Since I saw black fur, there was no doubt it was some sort of Pokémon. She placed her forepaws on the top of the white fence, and then slowly got into a position to jump over. She tensed her hind legs, and then used them like coils. While jumping over, she leveraged herself on the fence with her forepaws, and then used those same ones to pull her up as well. On the other side, she lowered her snout to the ground and sniffed around once more.

Only about half a minute passed till she stopped inspecting the area. Still on the other side of the fence, she reported what she had discovered. "Some sort of Pokémon was definitely here. The scent seems familiar somehow, yet it's foreign at the same time." From the last statement, I gave Rachel a non-believing look. How could it be something we know yet we don't know?

"How's that possible?" Zeke asked, as if he read my mind.

Rachel sighed. "I'm not sure. It's probably that the Pokémon is someone we know, yet it tried to disguise its scent but wasn't able to completely cover it."

There was rustling in some nearby vegetation. It came from somewhere a few meters on my right, on Rachel's side of the fence. All three of us turned immediately towards the noise with wide eyes. A dark furry head popped out of the bush startlingly. Light blue river-like eyes stared back at us which definitely stood out within the darkness. It was easy to identify that it was the same Pokémon as before. A look of astonishment was planted on its face, barely visible. I had a better look of the creature, and I was able to notice it had a really puffy red mane. A short gasp came from the Pokémon once it realized it was spotted.

"That's the Pokémon!" I yelled, pointing my hand at the mysterious figure. It had that dark pelt… and the bits of red fur. I got into a running stance, ready to chase the Pokémon till it was pinned down in my grip. It started to struggle in the shrubbery, trying to get free of the twigs, which made me smirk slightly. Rachel charged toward the bush with a tackle attack. Zeke ran over, half Rachel's speed with his vines extended. I dashed over as well, my tail shining bright silver with a rock-hard exterior. I prepared my iron tail to slice a major wound in this Pokémon's stomach. No stalker was going to follow us around. It could possibly be a Pokémon from Team Plasma!

The creature managed to get free and it dashed off into the woods. No, this Pokémon wasn't going to get away. Not until I found out who and what it was, and why it was stalking us! "Hurry, before he gets away!" I shouted, and canceled my iron tail move. Rachel halted her tackle before she crashed into the shrubbery and Zeke put his vines away. Quickly Rachel thought up a plan.

"Zeke, Shadow, you chase after it in the trees. I'll follow it on paw!" Both of us nodded in understanding. Quickly I extended some dark black vines, curtsey of those evil scientists who made me this way, and wrapped them around Zeke. I lifted the small snivy onto a tree branch as fast as I could, than let go of Zeke and put my vines around the same branch. Retracting the vines, it pulled me up right next to the snivy.

Rachel was already dashing after the creature, following some heavy paw prints left in the ground. "Zeke," I called, redirecting his attention. "Use your vines to swing around from branch to branch. We'll catch up to the Pokémon faster." I released my grip from the branch and extended my vines to make them slightly longer. Aiming for the closest tree along the trail to the Pokémon, I fired two shady black vines at a branch and lightly held onto it. Zeke released two similar dark black vines and wrapped them around the same branch, mimicking my moves. I leapt from the branch we stood on and fell down, Zeke quickly following me.

I swung up onto the second branch, Zeke on it soon enough with me. Again I let go of the branch and found another target, swinging down again to a different tree. Soon it got easier to spot a branch along the path, until it soon was as easy as it was to breathe. After a bit, I grabbed onto a branch with one vine, and once I was under it, quickly located another branch nearby and used my second vine to grab it. Zeke clumsily did it with me, and soon got the hang of it. We soon caught up with Rachel and I noticed that the footprints were gone, but she was going at a full sprint however. I narrowed my eyes and scanned through the darkness in hopes of seeing the figure we were dashing after. With my unnatural sight, it was easy to see a running figure in the distance; however it was too far to see what kind of Pokémon it was. Quickly I sped up the swinging rate, going slightly faster through the trees. I couldn't tell how fast Zeke was going, but it didn't matter. Once I was hovering above this stalker from the trees, I was going to wrap it up with my vines, tackle it down, and get it in a death grip. This guy wasn't going to get away.

**Zeke's POV**

I frantically tried to keep up with Shadow. He continued to go from vine to vine, branch to branch, his pace increasing with every second passing by. He had already passed over Rachel and was just going towards the creature without us. Luckily my night vision improved slightly so I was able to locate a good branch to grasp on when I needed to, but I didn't know if we were getting closer or if the Pokémon was gaining a bigger distance between us. I had no idea if Rachel could see in this darkness either. The lillipup could be totally blind under all these shadows. In Pinwheel forest, you could never tell if daylight was casted over the region, or if stars were scattered around in the sky.

"Rachel!" I called out, my eyes locked on her running figure below. I was able to notice her ears twitch from when I spoke, indicating she could hear me. "Can you see in all of this? The darkness I mean," I asked, continuing to swing around. While looking down, I noticed there was no snow. The trees were so thick in that part of the forest; it shielded the ground from most of it. Occasionally there was a tiny pile of snow, but nothing more.

"It's a bit hard but I can see that Pokémon, and still avoid the trees and obstacles while staying on the trail. However the Pokémon only looks like an altered shadow to me." When I was staring down at Rachel, I nearly swung into a tree, so I quickly directed my attention to where I was going. I peered into the distance, also able to see a shadowy figure running around. I thought I was probably able to see more detail then Rachel, since my night vision was starting to develop. There were locks of red and black hair on the Pokémon's back, but that was all I could tell.

A few minutes passed and I felt majorly fatigued. My vines felt weak and I almost swung into several trees. I nearly missed some of the branches, and any second I was going to mess up and hurtle onto the ground, I thought. Rachel slowed her pace down slightly and Shadow had slowed down enough so I could see him again, which means we were all running out of energy. If we didn't catch up to the Pokémon soon, our luck would run out and it would just disappear.

The trees were decreasing in numbers. I thought we were either coming to the end of the forest or that we were almost at a clearing. Soon enough though, we'd find out who or what it was we were chasing.

Suddenly the trees stopped. I let go of my vine and extended my other one to grab onto another branch which wasn't there, but I was too late to stop. I fell to the ground with my panicked breathing. I retracted my weak and limp vines quickly, knowing that they wouldn't be useful for a while. Rachel slowly walked next to me, panting, and collapsed to the dark moist grass. I could barely spot Shadow a few feet ahead of me while I struggled with my breathing. Using the last of the strength I had left, I forced myself to stand up and view the scene.

Behind us was Pinwheel forest. As I saw, Shadow was in front of me by only a few feet. Surprisingly, I noticed we were near the edge of a cliff and the sound of water was crashing around somewhere nearby. Curiously I took a few steps forward, and then stopped. I was too exhausted and had to wait a while till I got my energy back. Shadow's eyes were locked on a figure standing a bit at the edge of the ridge. The Pokémon we were chasing was cornered. Suddenly I felt a burst of strength from the sight. "Rachel, the Pokémon's trapped!" I exclaimed to the weak lillipup. She slowly stood up, that red scarf around her neck slipping off, but she didn't attempt to put it back on just yet. She slowly padded over to Shadow's side, looking slightly less tired then I was. It was odd to see her without that scarf on.

Shadow gasped. It was lighter out in that clearing since we weren't in the forest anymore, but I still couldn't identify the Pokémon. I stared at the dark sky, unable to see any stars, but heavy dark clouds and a half-moon. The scent of rain was lingering in the air. I squinted at the Pokémon we had cornered, but still couldn't tell what it was. Shadow must have definitely known however with that night vision of his.

"You, why are you here?!" Shadow screamed at the Pokémon with a surprisingly loud voice. The red mane of the Pokémon was flowing around wildly, the coming storm creating some rapid winds.

"Who is it?" Rachel asked with a serious tone, staring straight at Shadow. She also couldn't see the figure.

The Pokémon started to talk. Its voice was raspy, and seemed familiar, but the only thing that I could tell was that it was a female's voice. "Please… have mercy!" she growled, the wind starting up again barely after she finished.

"Who is it?" Rachel repeated. Her voice was barely audible with the screeching frigid winds.

A flash of lightning came from the storm clouds. A bright light illuminated the area, and it helped me see the rest of the scene. A wide mass of water was at the bottom of the cliff and it stretched over for miles. It seemed to disappear on the horizon, but on the very right side of my field of vision, some land was noticeable. Then suddenly my eyes grew wide, my gaze stuck on the shadowy figure that we've cornered.

The lightning lasted for only a few seconds then disappeared, a loud thundering boom following directly after it. However I was able to see the entire Pokémon with the small amount of light that was provided, and every single detail. The Pokémon had that red mane, leading from her forehead down her back and it was tied into a ponytail. It had lots of extra dark black fur on the chest with the rest of her body a light black. It had three sharp red claws on each paw as a final detail. Immediately I identified it as a zoroark. When did we encounter a zoroark on this journey? It was supposed to be a familiar Pokémon, yet I never saw one in real life before.

"It's a zoroark?" Rachel asked with her voice layered in confusion.

"Don't you remember Rachel?" Shadow suddenly blurted out. "That voice… do you recognize the voice or even the scent of this Pokémon?" Shadow looked as if he was astonished that Rachel had no clue, and that he was on the verge of freaking out. Rachel rolled her eyes at him, but then she sniffed the air several times to see if she could figure out what Shadow was talking about. Then her eyes grew wide. The zoroark didn't move an inch, staying in the spot as she let everyone else figure it out.

"It… it can't be!" Rachel screamed.

I couldn't take that tension anymore. I had to say something. "Who?! Who are you guys talking about?! Who is this Pokémon?!" I shouted, demanding for an answer.

Rachel turned to face me, a look of shock still on her face. "It's Illusion! That zorua that we saw a few weeks ago back at Striaton city!" she revealed. "Illusion had evolved!" My mouth was agape at what they'd figured out. Maybe Team Plasma figured out that I had the Stone of Darkness, and they were here to take it. I remembered Braviary's warning, pulling the black stone closer to my chest. Well that situation inclined fast.

"That's right," Illusion interrupted, forcing all of us to stare at the foxlike Pokémon. I expected her voice to be full of hate, but it wasn't. It sounded more of… misery. "Yes, I'm Illusion. The zorua who was working with Team Plasma," she admitted to confirm our beliefs. Suddenly my eyes grew just a bit wider. I noticed that past tense word in the statement, 'was'.

"But you guys have nothing to worry about. I'm off the team." She had confirmed my suspicions. She wasn't a part of Team Plasma anymore.

Shadow didn't seem to believe her just yet, and neither did I. I squeezed my arms tighter around my chest, still worried the stone would be stolen. "You're now an ex-plasma Pokémon? Why, did you leave it after you realized how evil they are?" Shadow scoffed.

Illusion sneered. "What do you think snake breathe? Of course I didn't quit the team, didn't you see how devoted I was? I was fired!"

Shadow stopped speaking. Rachel padded back towards her red scarf and quickly wrapped it around her neck while Illusion continued to talk. I listened intently on what she had to say. "After failing the last mission, Ghetsis looked at me as useless. I have failed several other missions… and even though I'm more like a ditto then a zorua, he thought I have done as much as I would ever do. He released me."

Suddenly I had a thought. "Speaking of which, how do you have those weird powers?" I asked, curious. How could've a zorua used moves of a certain Pokémon it transformed into?! It was almost like a monster straight out of a storybook.

"It's Team Plasma's doing. In this high-tech lab of theirs at a base, they used all these dangerous substances. I was injected with needles, forced to swallow things, and had to run through certain tests and ended up like I am today."

"So basically you were an experiment, just like what happened to me?" Shadow asked. Could she have really gone through what Shadow and I did?

"Exactly," she replied. "However, I might be able to use moves of the Pokémon I turn into, some things are restricted, a flaw of the power. I can only transform into certain Pokémon. The Pokémon are-"

Shadow decided to interrupt. "Like we want to hear your life story," Shadow hissed. "I can easily remember some of those transformations. I can easily recall you being a purrloin, arbok, haunter, lillipup, salamence, and… me." Suddenly he went into deep thought. I guess he was surprised on the fact that she turned into, well, Shadow. I was also surprised by this. If Illusion was experimented on, how could she somehow turn into Shadow? If she was restricted by a few things, transforming into a mutant snivy should've been a limited thing.

Rachel tilted her head to the side. "How could you transform into Shadow? You should really explain about it more," she pointed out.

The zoroark growled lightly. "I would've, but Shadow had to interrupt me." Staring at Shadow, I saw him fold his arms and roll his eyes, acting like Rachel slightly. "Let me start at the beginning. I need someone's DNA inside me in order to do this transformation with moves. For example, I could use one of Shadow's scales, and if I swallow it, my mutant DNA would transform it into something that could flow through my blood stream, which adds to my DNA and again, gives me this freaky power. Now basically I can't get too much of this DNA in my system… well technically I could do if I wanted to, but I'd have to suffer some consequences."

I could only imagine the horror. A normal zoruark just makes itself look different when it spins in that pink circle, but Illusion had a different story. While spinning in the air, her bones would shift, her skin would change, her pelt could shed and turn into feathers, and certain senses could appear and disappear. Eye sight could change, ears could completely disappear, and tails could turn into something completely different.

"W-What would happen if you got too much DNA?" I asked, unable to avoid the slip of the tongue.

"My normal appearance would shift around. Instead of transforming back into my usual zoroark form, I could have something else that no other zoroark would ever have. My fur could instead be feathers, and my eyesight could look different. Also whenever I add new DNA, the process is remarkably fast," she explained. Another flash of lightning happened in the distance, followed by the deafening thunder, and the dark clouds above seemed to come closer to us. The weather wasn't scaring me, but the current conversation did. I was unable to stop my thoughts from trailing off toward what it would be like if too much DNA came into Illusion's bloodstream. Feathers and scales would appear in certain places, she could have a normal zoroark body but with unusually huge deadly talons, vision and hearing would alter and bones would shift around, and might end up with a long purrloin tail permanently. Suddenly a chilly feeling spread from the back of my neck all the way down to the tip of my tail. It was impossible to determine the limits when it came to mutation.

"I can also only use a certain amount of transformations. I had already reached my limit on who to turn into, because of how much DNA there is inside me, and since I did that, if I ever take more DNA from anyone, the consequences would start. I've already reached the maximum ability of my special mutant blood, so now I just feel like a freak." Illusion stared down at the ground, reminding me of what it was like to be an outcast to everyone.

Illusion continued. "I might as well conclude on what Rachel had asked. When I had knocked Shadow out back at the restaurant, I ripped off one of his scales and quickly swallowed it." Shadow made a disgusted face. "It quickly morphed with my DNA. I was able to add his DNA in my bloodstream, transform, and hide Shadow in about ten seconds." Looking over at Rachel, I saw her giving a non-believing glare. Rachel was more of the scientist type, believing in science-like stuff instead of myths like ghost. The fact that Illusion could do all that stuff that fast probably was too unrealistic for her. However, she didn't speak up.

I decided to say something again, another question stuck in my brain that I just didn't understand. The talk with the DNA seemed to calm everyone down if that wasn't strange enough, but I felt as if I was a bit more alert then the others since I remembered a certain question. "So anyways Illusion, why are you here?" I asked with a stern voice. Shadow and Rachel glared at Illusion, everything going back to the hatred we had when we didn't know who Illusion was. I felt all those bad memories of her cloud my memory, prepared for what we've all been waiting for.

"Fine, but I think I made it obvious by now." Illusion seemed as if she was sick of talking. She took a few steps towards us, away from the enormous drop off the cliff behind her, but Illusion backed up when Rachel released a growl from her throat. "I want to help you, which is why I'm here. To get revenge on those traitors, Team Plasma, after what they did to me. I have a plan that if we use, we can take them down for good. As a zorua, I was allowed to learn practically every single thing about them. I'm tired of them using Pokémon like tools! I actually thought I was a part of something, after my life was going over the edge, but they deceived me. If we work together, I know we can finally take down Team Plasma! I want to travel with you to Castelia City, which literally is just over the bridge, and that's when we'll take them down!"

I had to say, that speech was inspiring. Illusion looked as if she was ready to head onto the good side, and even take down the source of her old bad ways. I was convinced, and Shadow looked slightly okay with it as well, however Rachel was another story. "Yeah right!" Rachel growled. "Like you'd ever change your devious ways, because I know for a fact that as soon as our guard is down, you'd knock us out and take us to Team Plasma yourself, probably to make up for failing the last mission!"

Even though Rachel did make a good point, just by looking in Illusion's blue eyes, I could tell that she was sincere. I realized this would continue to go on unless I intervened. "Rachel, Shadow, just look at her face. Isn't looking at it enough to say that she's telling the truth?" I asked, pointing both of my arms at the zoroark. "She must be telling the truth, just look!"

Shadow and Rachel stared at the zoroark, never having her leave their gaze. After a bit of an awkward silence, Shadow slowly relaxed. "Yeah, I guess she's trustable," Shadow mumbled. "Especially since she's mutated from them, and since I understand hatred you can develop for something like that… I believe her." I could tell Shadow was referencing his hatred for humans, who he's despised until recently when he realized the niceness in others.

Eventually Rachel also looked away. "I guess Zeke's right," Rachel agreed, avoiding anyone's eye contact. "The only thing that I don't understand is what we're going to do. Did you say you wanted to come with us?" All of our stares returned to the feminine zoroark.

"Yep, I said I wanted to come with you," she admitted. "But just to help you. If we traveled separately, then who knows what could happen. I know it would probably kill us from the inside or something if we stay together in a group, but I need vengeance, and so do you two!" Illusion yelled, referencing Shadow and I. She was making a point actually. Both Shadow and I had a grudge against their team. There was a possibility that we would be normal snivy's without all this drama if Team Plasma didn't interfere. Team Plasma convinced a few scientists to set traps in Unova, which trapped Shadow and lead them to find my egg. Then they somehow were able to get everyone to experiment on several Pokémon that arrived at the lab. It was just sickening, and so this made me want Illusion to come with us even more. It was also possible Rachel had something against them too that no one knew about yet.

"Illusion," Shadow started, standing up tall with a very serious expression. "You have been manipulative, deceiving, and evil to us in the past ever since the beginning of our journey." I sighed. Shadow was most likely not going to let her come.

"…but although, what you just proved in front of us shown me that you aren't that Pokémon anymore. Plus, there isn't any such thing as evil Pokémon, but evil trainers. You may travel with us," Shadow approved. Rachel and I were genuinely surprised. The way Shadow worded that was just complicated, but finally this feud had ended.

The zoroark showed a faint smile, barely visible with the moonlight shining above. "Now let's go, so we can defeat Team…" Illusion was about to state with determination, but a light drizzle had started on the cliff area. The zoroark gave a light chuckle, shocking me. From everything we've seen Illusion do, the small bit of laughter was totally out of character. "We probably should head back into the forest. This part of it will protect us from the rain." Illusion headed towards the trees behind us, pretty calmly I might add. She didn't seem nervous anymore. Exchanging odd looks, Rachel and Shadow followed after the quirky zoroark.

I stayed in my spot. There was one thing that I forgot to ask Illusion. Why was she following us, and how long has it been since she started? A few more questions were whirling around in my mind. I stood there in the clearing as the frigid rain started to get heavier. The snow beneath my feet finally came to my attention, since I just realized there were small piles of the freezing slush in the area, and I was standing in one. I stepped out of it and returned to my thoughts about Illusion, a little irritated.

This was one weird zoroark. After all that happened, I forgot all the faults that could happen. Rachel could've been right about Illusion trying to trick us, but I just saw that zoroark face and just thought she could be trusted. Plus this Pokémon had such a strange personality. I couldn't get it out of my head about how casually Illusion walked away from us. Maybe I'd just ask her about those things on the way to Castelia City. I tightened my grip on the Stone of Darkness at each bad idea. Different thoughts started to come to mind.

Soon some sort of battle against the ones of blue and red was going to happen, and each second that passed was another second away from the doomsday. Hopefully I'd make it out of it alive, but I just couldn't tell. How could a weak young snivy like me defeat something that could kill Braviary like snapping a twig?! The pressure on my shoulders wanted to make me scream.

"Zeke, you coming?" I heard Shadow shout from the forest. I snapped out of my troublesome thoughts and directed my attention to my older brother.

"Coming!" I replied as I started to dash after the trio, back into the depths of Pinwheel forest.


	13. Crossing

Shadow's POV

Once we had retraced our steps we soon made it back to the cement road, about half an hour of our time going to waste. Maybe if I didn't see Illusion stalking us, then we would've been in the next city already. It's just what we need, another Pokémon to drag us down. Rachel was enough, but it was just until Nimbasa City, which I thought was the city after the next. The stupid thing was now our original goal had two sub goals added to it. On the way to the White Forest, we also had to get Rachel to Nimbasa for some reason she won't reveal, and then somehow take down the remaining people of Team Plasma! Even though I would be overjoyed to see the team behind bars for all their troubles, and from turning me into a monster, how were we supposed to do that?

Illusion was in the lead with Rachel while Zeke walked along with me in the back. Zeke tried to start up a conversation a while ago, but gave up when I refused to talk. Illusion was chatting up a storm however, even though Rachel was trying her best not to listen. "So next I powered up my signature attack, as you already know is Faint Attack, and then I sent that zubat flying, into the ground!" the zoroark babbled on, and after finishing the last sentence she moved one of her paws down and patted the back of Rachel's head playfully. Even from behind the two, the way that Rachel's tail lowered and her ears pressed against her head proved how much she didn't enjoy that. Rachel wasn't exactly the touchy type. The lillipup used her paws to fix her slightly messy scarf, curtsey of Illusion.

Zeke snickered a bit from Illusion's story, getting a glare from me. Zeke noticed me and returned the glare. "What, it's a good story," Zeke muttered, and then folded his arms. "Just because we're traveling doesn't mean we can't have fun here."

Illusion looked over her shoulder and pointed at Zeke, making me notice that her arms were covered in dirt. "See, this guy knows what I'm talking about!" Illusion giggled. The little black snivy cracked a smile from the zoroark, forcing me to roll my eyes. We just needed to get to the next city and fast. A while ago we noticed there was some light up ahead, signaling that we were nearing the exit. We were practically almost there, and I could already see the outside of the forest. There was some more cement in the form of stairs leading up to something that was still out of sight.

"Can we please pick up the pace?" Rachel asked, giving an annoyed glare up at the black fox. Illusion gave a slight chuckle and patted the back of Rachel's head, messing up her red scarf again.

"Sure, but are we in any rush? We should just take it easy and chill out. It's basically the middle of the night, and maybe we should find a place to rest!" Illusion exclaimed, forcing me to groan in frustration. Ever since back at the restaurant, Illusion has been rough and dark, even when we cornered her at the cliff she was like that. Now she was some sort of jokester who seemed like she never heard of personal space. Maybe having freedom took some sort of huge weight off her shoulders.

And to think, I was really looking forward to crushing this Pokémon for what happened back in Striaton city; despite the fact that I knew that Illusion was at least ten levels higher than me. Luckily I knew I had gained at least a few levels from the adventure. Eterna forest had too many weak Pokémon, but the whole journey let us meet some interesting Pokémon and battle certain and new species.

Shrugging my thoughts away, I realized we were practically just feet away from those cement steps. Illusion and Rachel had already climbed up the stone and Zeke was getting ready to. I padded over to the steps, rays of starlight shining down on us. There weren't really that many steps but from my height I could only see those steps and two lampposts at the top of the staircase. Just one of the steps was up to my neck causing me to think it was easier just to use my vines again. Extending two black vines from my purple shoulders, I first wrapped one around Zeke's waist and lifted him to the top. After I extended the unused vine slightly, I held on to a lamppost nearby and retracted my vines, pulling me up to the top step. Swiftly I retracted my vines and took in the scene.

The place was small. It was a stone cold platform with only the stars above and the lampposts providing light, not that it mattered to me. Weak rays of artificial light shone from behind glass and it only lit up a small radius. The corners in the back of the area were engulfed in shadows. To the right of the scene there was a building that looked identical to one right by the entrance to Nacrene City. It was basically like a hallway with no doors so anyone could just walk in. Faint noises came from inside the building and creatures that stood on two legs were chatting quietly to one another. I could notice a few of them had yellow headgear of some sort and a sort of suit that didn't seem to serve a purpose of any kind except for the fact that it was somehow made shiny, the weak light glinting off it. When I accidentally stared directly at the suit, my eyes burnt from the rays and quickly looked away.

Rachel must have caught a glance of the figures inside. She ducked close to the ground, her ears lowered and tail brought to the ground from self-control to stay out of sight. Her stare concentrated on the humans inside. "Construction workers, why are they here?" she whispered to herself, a little too loudly. Zeke and I looked at Rachel with confusion but Illusion just glanced at the interior of the building.

When Zeke was about to open his mouth to ask the question bugging both of us, Rachel had already predicted what we were going to say. "They are a kind of human. They're the kind of humans that wear shiny vests and hard hats, the hats for protection and the vests so other humans can see them at night. They build and repair human structures, for example this walk-through right here," Rachel quietly explained. Illusion didn't pay attention, and she must have already known what the construction workers were.

There was only one thing we had to do. Surely we couldn't just walk by the construction workers without going unnoticed, and plus who would just let two mutant snivys and a zoroark just waltz through there without the slightest thought of capturing them? We either had to go over or around, but going around seemed to be cut off by water. If there was water, I hoped there was some sort of bridge that we could cross.

We probably would have to go over the human structure though. It was the only way to get a better view.

I extended my vines for another one of the countless times that night. My vines shakily shot up and gripped whatever it could get and slowly I pulled myself to the top. I kept my vines out after that because I knew I had to drag Rachel up. Zeke had already brought himself onto the top and retracted his vines while I struggled with the lillipup. Sooner or later I managed to get her to the top, hopefully without being seen by any of the construction workers. Once she was on the roof she only took one step and I could hear a thump sound. Rachel wasn't as good as sneaking around as she thought she was.

Zeke made a _shh_sound at Rachel, her eyes looking a bit angry for a few seconds but she forced that feeling aside. I stared down at Illusion, watching her do some flexible agile moves to get onto the roof. I huffed in distaste as she ran to a pine tree, jumped, and used her feet like springs to wall jump or something off the tree trunk. She could've just transformed into a noctowl and just fly up. When she landed a huge bang noise sounded, making Zeke do the _shh_noise yet again. Rachel and I glared at Illusion while she did a sheepish grin, than rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment.

_Next time transform!_I thought angrily, knowing that if I spoke up that I wouldn't be able to stop myself from yelling.

Zeke and I sneaked across the green roof with ease and were making no noises whatsoever. Rachel made an occasional mistaking paw step and created a small tap noise but Illusion was worse. Each step either ended with a creaking noise or like a rock-hitting-the-roof noise. Zeke wanted to somehow keep the clumsy zoroark quiet, yet he knew doing that would result in making more noise. After a dozen or so steps, we were on the other end of the building, and the sight brought shock and grief to my face.

There was a bridge that went over a wide body of water. Several tall buildings appeared to be on an island in the distance and I noticed those were the same buildings I saw back at that cliff. The unfortunate part was a huge gap in the middle of the bridge. It was easy to see the jagged pieces of metal sticking out of the inside. It gap seemed to be about one hundred or two hundred yards wide. What happened?! How were we supposed to get across?! The situation made me want to stomp my feet angrily, but that would attract attention from those construction workers below.

"I'm telling you I'm not crazy!" an agitated voice suddenly screamed, disturbing the peaceful forest silence. All four of us looked directly below at the opening in the building, seeing two humans walk out. One of them had on the shiny suit betraying them as a construction worker. The other one had a red jacket on and looked to be some sort of shady character.

"Sure you're not," the construction worker muttered sarcastically as he rolled his eyes. That guy looked totally exhausted, most likely from being there at this time at night. He had a cup of something brown in his hand and I could faintly notice steam emitting from it.

The regular man had clenched up fist and looked as if he was resisting the urge to punch this guy. His whole body seemed tense while he looked at the construction worker as if he was trying to set him on fire with one fiery glare. "How many times do I have to repeat this till you guys believe me?!" he shouted. I could barely detect the sound of Pokémon in the forest scurrying away from the yelling. "I saw two Pokémon come over here and create this huge gap in the bridge! I swear to Arceus that I am telling the truth! They were like giant canine Pokémon, and one of them breathed fire and created... created _this!_" The man then pointed his hands at the bridge and waved them around frantically.

So this incident was recent, probably a few hours ago. That was around the time when we had barely entered Pinwheel forest. So one of the Pokémon was a fire elemental while the other one was something currently unknown. However both of them were huge and canine-related. I turned my head to see the reactions of the others. All three of them were being smart and crouched down to avoid being spotted if someone happened to look up. Illusion had confusion written on her face. Rachel looked confused as well but she was squinting to see the figures in the darkness. Zeke however was shaking in terror, clenching the round stone of his close to his body.

A guy with a familiar looking blue hat walked out of the building. I recalled back in Striaton city that this certain human was called a police officer, which was what Rachel called them. That lillipup was basically an expert when it came to humanity. The police officer was holding a pad of paper with some sort of stick like object in his pale paw...er, hand. I noticed some sort of scribble in a dark substance on the paper. "So let's get this straight. From everything you had told us, you were crossing the bridge heading towards Nacrene city when suddenly two Pokémon came out and attacked the bridge. You had barely made it out of range from a Flamethrower coming from one of the Pokémon. You said one of them was bluish while the other one appeared red, correct?" the man asked.

The suspicious man spoke up again. "Yes, I am telling the truth! Stop thinking I'm insane when I nearly was burnt to ashes!" He flailed his arms in the air with wide frightened and frustrated eyes. From finishing the last phrase I heard a small terrified squeal come from Zeke but it was cut short when I saw Illusion cover his mouth with her paw. His amber eyes were coated with fear and they were unnaturally wide. The thought of a giant red and blue Pokémon must have been scaring the kid, especially with that giant gap in the bridge.

That was all I needed to hear. Obviously since humans didn't have vision for the night the man didn't see anything more. Any more info he could've had wouldn't be any use since we just needed to get across. It would be best if we avoided all the humans since we couldn't risk to waste time by running off and hiding from them. Luckily we could find a nice place in the forest and Illusion would be able to transform into a salamence, and then fly us across.

I swerved my head around to face Illusion. She must have seen my movement out of the corner of one of her eyes since she turned to face me. "Illusion, we need to find a place so you can safely transform and fly us over the bridge," I explained with a stern voice. We should've been doing that in the first place instead of walking through the forest, but whenever someone asked Illusion abut that on the way she would avoid the question.

It was easy to see the reluctance and nervousness on her face. "W-Well we should probably listen to the rest of the-" she stammered, but I roughly cut her off.

"Stop, this isn't a question, it's a demand. You _will_transform and you _will_fly us over!" I shouted under my breath. My small fingers were clenched up in a fist as I held it up threateningly.

She gulped as she started to shake slightly. "I... I can't, okay?!" she yelled in a whisper, than her eyes went wide. She covered her muzzle with both paws and looked as if she regretted what she just said. Rachel, Zeke, and I both glared at the zoroark.

"What do you mean?" I demanded through gritted teeth. Illusion's face then was covered in disappointment and guilt.

"I mean I was injured," she reluctantly muttered then pointed a red claw at her arms. They were still coated in a thick layer of dirt. Confused, it then came to me that a wound or major cut was probably being covered up. "Under this mud you can see deep cuts where Team Plasma attacked me. The mutation in my blood had caused me to be unable to transform if any bad injuries are created. I have several of those wounds, very deep, on both of my arms." Her voice had cracked slightly while explaining. I then noticed it wasn't dirt but as she said it was a lot of mud.

She started to rub and claw the hardened substance off. After only a little bit of it chipped off, I could see dull red flesh and blood-stained fur. Rachel had attempted to cover up Zeke's eyes but he defiantly pushed her away. It wasn't like a cut, but it started to look more like part of her pelt was ripped off. I bit my tongue at the sight, trying my best not to gag. It was a very thick coat of mud which had hardly hidden her wounds. She however only clawed off one of the mud-coats, leaving her other one to be covered up still. It had taken a while but soon it was clawed off to reveal most of the injury. It went from the wrist all the way down to her elbow, all of it looking like a section of her skin and fur was clawed off with a few deep gashes. Zeke then covered both of his eyes with his tail and turned away from the scene.

"Yikes..." Rachel commented, staring at the injury with disgust. Illusion had her eyes closed as if not wanting to see the damage. It was just horrifying. It was like someone made a cut in the skin, then grabbed onto part of her pelt and ripped it off. Then it was like someone gotten a knife and put big gashes on the arms. I had seen worse in Eterna forest however... way worse, but I bet that was scream-worthy for Rachel and Zeke.

Illusion moved her wounded arm behind her back, hiding the scene from us. "See, and it will take a long time for this to heal. Until then I can't transform," she muttered sadly, trying to avoid the intense gaze I was giving her. How were we-

"I'M NOT INSANE!" a human voice screamed, instantly grabbing my attention. Peering down I saw the man with the red clothing pull back a fist with a crazed expression on his face. About a second or two later he threw it forward with a ton of rage planted into it and it made contact with the construction worker's jaw. The sound coming from the man's mouth made me flinch lightly. The construction worker fell backwards, stumbling slightly before he tripped over a step behind him. He toppled over and fell with a loud thud inside the walk-through. The police officer immediately took action and reached into some sort of container attached to a leather thing around his waist. Pulling it out I saw a small device that fit nicely into the man's hand. I could see a twinge of electricity from an end of the device for a second, facing the enraged human.

A thought came to mind. That was the only chance we had to get to the bridge gap without being seen. If we headed across the bridge at that moment, the humans would be too distracted with the shady character and wouldn't see us run off. Then we would figure out a plan once we reach the edge.

I grabbed Zeke's arm which was very tense. He was still squeezing the rock of his close to his chest. "Come on guys, this is our chance!" I yelled matter-of-factly. For a minute I was worried for raising my voice but realized that none of the humans heard me over the commotion. Quickly I extended a vine and wrapped it around Zeke, knowing that he wouldn't be able to run fast enough. Looking down I noticed a bunch of the blue-hatted humans had ran out to see the scene. The device in the first police officer's hand shot out two wires with spikes at the end towards the man. In a split second it attached to the man's red jacket and sparks coursed through the metal threads. The man shook violently as the electricity shocked him. The convenient distraction was already almost over.

With my remaining vine I saw a nearby metal pole connected to the bridge and secured a vine around it. When I was about to jump I felt a light fluffy squeeze grasp my tail and with a small glance I noticed Rachel was holding on. Knowing there was no time for doing anything to tell Rachel about personal space, I jumped from the ledge with the lillipup holding onto my tail and a snivy in my other vine. Whatever Illusion did would hopefully keep her out of sight.

We fell towards the bridge with me in the front. The vine that held Zeke was dragging behind me and of course my tail wasn't ahead. Then I realized I was pulling us towards the ground and unlike swinging to a tree I didn't head back up; it was only straight down. My grip tightened on the metal pole as we plummeted towards the cement. Only one idea that didn't seem crazy came to mind out of my panic-driven thoughts. Quickly I retracted some of the vine till it was about only a foot in length, so I was basically right next to the pole I grabbed onto.

The appendage was so short that I couldn't hit the ground. I swung up into the air and then retracted the rest of that one vine. Then I mentally face-pawed myself as we flew through the air, straight towards the gap in the bridge. We were only feet off the ground but going at a fast pace towards the hole. _Stupid gravity..._

Quickly I extended my vine again and frantically searched the area for something I could grab on. The only thing I saw was the handrails of the bridge and most of it looked as if it was broke off. Some parts remained intact but most of it seemed severely fragile. With sweat beading down my neck I knew I had to take a chance and launched my free vine towards one of the rails. It felt very loose and definitely not sturdy, and even some gravel crumpled from the ledge. If the rail wasn't secure enough then it would break off instead of bringing us to a halt and we would drop into the sea below.

We went forward past the rail and I hoped with dear life that it wouldn't crumble when the vine stopped. I felt a strong tug once the vine fully stretched out, hearing cracking sounds emit from the rail. Gravel fell from the weak piece of structure. I noticed Rachel had just let go of my leaf-like tail and fell the couple feet and most likely landed safely. Panic drove me to instinctively retract my vines and hoped the handrail wouldn't collapse.

It broke off seconds after I started to reel myself in. Letting go of the crumbling cement, I dropped a few feet down. The structure had barely managed to keep gravity from sending me off the ledge into the raging sea below. Thinking within the panic, I maneuvered my tail so that it was directly below me and braced myself for the impact. The flat part of my tail smacked against the surface, a searing pain shooting up my spine, but I bit my lip to help and endure it. A light smacking sound came from my right and then I felt a small amount of pain spreading up my right vine. I mentally scolded myself realizing I didn't brace my vine and Zeke just tumbled clumsily and painfully into the cement.

Carefully I moved my bruised vine to lift the practically squashed snivy. He now had a giant bruise spread around on his stomach. Zeke had a seriously pissed off expression as he glared daggers at me. With a sheepish grin I released him and reeled my vines back in. From that experience I gained a few new bruises. Hopefully that wasn't a feeble attempt to stay away from the humans and hoped we hadn't have been spotted.

Quickly I located where everyone else was. Rachel was luckily nearby, looking a heck of a lot better than Zeke and I did. She was grooming her pelt, attempting to get some murky dust out of her pelt. Zeke was only a few feet away and somehow his stone didn't break. I swore that Zeke had that rock clenched tightly to his stomach and he just smacked hard onto the cement. I put the thought aside and new we had to regroup. Next I noticed the shady zoroark on all fours scurrying towards us. A smile threatened to show from all of us being safe but I refused to let it show. Illusion quickly made it over to us and moved back into her usual position, on her two hind legs.

"Thank Arceus we weren't spotted," I muttered as I eyed the humans gathered around the building's entrance. The man who had socked the construction worker was on the ground and seemed paralyzed. Several construction workers and police officers were there, and none of them were looking in our direction. It wasn't going to last that long though and our luck would cease soon enough. "Now come on, we got to get moving."

Zeke had opened his mouth to protest, ready to say a variety of insults and complaints, but fortunately decided to shut it for the time being. Illusion was in the lead, naturally being faster than the rest of us. We all sprinted towards the gap and I frequently glanced over my shoulder at the humans. Within a minute we reached the other end of the bridge, Zeke wheezing lightly. The stomach bruise must have been taking the breath out of him.

"Now what… Sha… dow…?" Zeke gasped, pausing a bit because of his temporary wheezing.

"Yeah Shasta, got any plans now?" Rachel growled, agreeing with Zeke.

I looked at Rachel with a confused stare. "Wait a second; did you just call me Shasta?" I questioned.

"Got a problem with it?" Rachel yapped, making me note the anger in her voice. Before I could open my mouth to respond she talked again. "I thought so. Now figure out what to do man."

I didn't get the name Shasta at all, but shook their remarks off my mind. I took the short time to think and tried to forget the pressure on my shoulders. The only good ideas that came to thought were I could extend my vines across the gap so the others could walk across. The only fact that made that plan suck was I doubted my vines could've reached that far, and with how exhausted I was I wouldn't have been able to hold the others up long enough and end up responsible for a few deaths. I wouldn't have been able to hold Zeke for a minute with how tired my vines were. We needed some other strategy.

"I know what we can do," Illusion suddenly chimed in. "We can jump."

My eye twitched. "What makes you think that will work," I seethed.

"No, no, it's a good plan!" she continued. "We can wait till a boat comes by and we can jump, and then we can hide on it till it docks at the Castelia city port, and we'll be free!"

Rachel scowled at the zoroark. "What makes you think we can survive a hundred foot drop? Or what makes you think that a boat will come at this time at night? Surely any boats coming through here this late would be canceled because of this."

Illusion seemed to be used to all this negativity in the air, most likely because she's been around Team Plasma so long. "Because I remember that this cruise ship left for a three day cruise. This really expensive cruise ship! And plus Zeke and Shadow can use their vines to secure onto the rails of the ship and climb aboard, and I can easily hold on with these paws of mine!" She flexed her black paws in front of us and her red claws, yet I couldn't take my eyes off the wound on her arm. She was acting as if her arms were okay, yet they were severely injured.

Zeke pointed a finger at the exposed flesh on her arm, holding his dirty stone in his other one. "What about _that?_" he asked, spitting out the last word in disgust.

Another one of her sheepish grins showed up. "Don't worry about me, just make sure to hold on to the rails when the time comes, and also maybe Shadow needs to hold Rachel in one of his vines."

I scowled at the remark. My vines were basically limp noodles. I would be lucky just to be able to grab the railing and hold on, let alone holding Rachel up. "Illusion, all night I've been using my vines to swing from trees, pick up and put down Zeke and Rachel, pull myself up and down from objects, and not to mention that little fiasco that just happened," I hissed. "How do you expect me to hold on to a railing with Rachel tonight, my vines are basically dead by now?"

Some reason I didn't get the reaction I wanted from Illusion. I expected her to look disappointed, doubtful, or confused. Instead she looked like she had some sort of trick. She reached into the fur in her red mane, shifting her paws around in the tangled mess. I wouldn't take my abnormal blue eyes off her paws shuffling around. Finally her face showed what looked as if she found what she was looking for and pulled out something from her mane. It was a familiar looking blue berry.

Illusion tossed it over at me and I hardly caught it. I stared down at the Oran berry in my black scaly arms. I snapped out of my perplexed state though and shoved the berry whole into my mouth. I savored the tangy sweet taste of the berry but then devoured the rest of it. Energy suddenly shot through my body and felt a new burst of energy. The numb pain from my newfound bruises slowly vanished. I barely noticed a sparkling blue-green light on my tail but I could only get a glance of it. My exhausted state transformed into one of alertness.

I hesitantly smiled thanks at the zoroark, but it quickly disappeared. "Why didn't you eat this? It would really help those wounds on your arms and maybe you would be able to transform again?" I snapped.

"Because it'll take more than a puny berry to heal these wounds," she retorted.

My attention was redirected when a piercing horn sounded in the distance. Peering at the shadowy waters to the east I could see a huge machine-like object sailing along the waves. Star and moonlight shone off the exterior of the machine that coursed through the water. Without doubt I knew that was the cruise ship Illusion had mentioned. Ends up she was telling the truth after all.

When I thought of the plan Illusion came up, I thought of it as ludicrous. We would never survive a fall like that. "Come on!" Illusion shouted, bracing herself to jump. I wanted to slap that zoroark clear across the face from her stupid delusional plan. Although we didn't have anything else to do, and I knew that Illusion would ask me for a better plan if I questioned this. Zeke unraveled his vines from his violet shoulders and prepared to jump from the ledge as well. Rachel stared at me, waiting for me to wrap a vine around her. She impatiently tapped one of her brown paws. Even _Rachel _agreed with this plan?!

I sighed in defeat and revealed my vines. They felt a hundred times better and sturdier then earlier. I coiled one of them around the lillipup's waist and she finally looked satisfied. "Thanks Shasta," she grinned, than the confusion of the nickname snapped back to me. _What is with that name?_

The cruise ship was sailing almost directly under the gap. I could see a few humans on the ship's deck seemingly the size of specks. They were most likely staring up at the bridge in shock. Great, now there was a bigger chance of us being caught if we jumped

"Go!" the zoroark yelled and sprang off the ledge. She hurtled towards the boat below, and Zeke followed her with extended vines. Rachel furrowed her eyebrows as she stared at me, waiting for me to jump. I stared down at the distance between us and the ship and it was easily a hundred yards.

Finally I gathered up my courage, took a deep breath, and jumped.

**Author's Note: So when I finished the chapter, it was really long, so I separated it into two chapters. So yeah, being evil and leaving you all at a cliffhanger. Huh, not sure if it's a good cliffhanger but whatever. I'll get up the second chapter next weekend hopefully, if nothing in real life comes up. It'll be up next weekend instead of someday like tomorrow because I like to create suspense. Thanks if you read it this far, and continued to read! I have some plans for Shadow and the gang, so just you wait!**

**Also I was reading a story, and then at the end it said something so abrupt. It was saying reviews=updates and I was just frustrated. It was like the author was threatening to say that if you don't review, the author won't continue the story. I mean that's just stupid! I decided that I wouldn't do anything like that so don't worry about me saying anything like that. I won't judge my updates for this story by how many reviews I receive. I do have a poll up on which story people want me to update more, but that was up a bit before I saw that story. Well keep being awesome everyone!**


	14. Cruising

**Shadow's POV**

We jumped. It was such an insane idea yet we jumped.

All four of us were hurtling through the air, the waves below growing ever so closer as the wind whirled past us. I bit my tongue hard to resist an urge to scream. Rachel was screaming like crazy within the grasp of my vine, indicating she immediately regretted this idea. Zeke and Illusion were surprisingly calm however. Zeke was holding his stone close to his purple chest. The reason he was still holding onto that rock was puzzling but I wouldn't ponder the idea at a time like that.

The ship was quickly growing in size as we got closer, the wind around me blocking off any other noises. It had only been a few seconds and we already passed the halfway point of reaching the machine. Every part of my body was shaking with fear but still I quickly tensed up my free vine. I reeled both of the vines closer to me though, pulling Rachel till she was about a foot away from me. I found out that it was ridiculously hard to swallow and I couldn't stop my tail from twitching nervously.

The rails surrounding the top deck were meters away. I shot my free vine forward and wrapped the appendage around the metal firmly. I tightened my grip on Rachel's waist and prayed to Arceus I would survive. I continued to fall down a few feet pass the rail till my vine was fully stretched out. At that moment an immense pain shot through my shoulder. It was as if my shoulder blades were about to snap as a burning sensation spread through that area. My breath was cut off, seeing that the sudden stop after the long fall caused me to choke. Less than a second later an equally burning pain struck my other shoulder. The vine that held Rachel nearly let go of the lillipup, but I quickly maintained self-control. When the first choking was over I attempted to take a deep breath but the pain from the other vine cut me off. My lungs were searing with the need of oxygen after the first moments, instincts begging me to release my grips, and let my vines and shoulders relax.

The weariness from earlier seemed to return. I bit harder on my tongue to help endure the flaming pain shooting up my vines and around my shoulders. The grip I had on the rails loosened slightly but I quickly forced myself to tighten them. A quick thought slipped my mind about what trouble Zeke would be going through but it disappeared seconds later, having more important matters. The choking stopped fortunately and I took in a deep breath to replenish my weak lungs. A small amount of relief coursed through me, but the pain remaining in my shoulders quickly stopped the feeling.

I was only dangling from my vines at the moment. Swaying slightly, I let the moment sink in and my thoughts return to me. My heart was pounding against my chest, my whole body was shaking, and my blue eyes were wide with disbelief and fear. My mind felt as if it was all jumbled up in my head and everything spun around. Slowly my vision had returned to normal, but I was still really lightheaded. It actually took me a moment to realize I wasn't dead.

"Hey buddy, reel us up all ready!" Rachel yelled, helping me snap back to reality. It was weird how she went from a screaming panic to a surprising calm. I gulped, still seeing it was a bit difficult to swallow, and slowly pulled Rachel and I towards the railing. A few thoughts were shaking me and made me more fearful, and most of them were questions. Did anyone see us? Most likely a bunch had. I may have survived, but would I have to run from a bunch of humans? Possibly, and would probably get caught.

Soon I made it to the railing and took in the scene of the deck. A bunch of the two-legged creatures were staring at the railing. Most of them had shock on their face. A few seemed fear-stricken and a couple appeared curious. Most of the people looked snobby, having very expensive looking clothes, really pale skin, and seemingly really weak. A few others looked like the normal people I had seen on my adventure and they were mostly the curious ones. All the gentlemen-and-woman was the panicked ones. Those weak humans seemed as if they were paralyzed from the incident. Well it was a definite fact that we were all spotted falling from the bridge. I knew our luck had to be running out at some time.

Finally the thoughts of Illusion and Zeke came to mind. Glancing to my right, I could see the zoroark with white glowing claws. They were dug deep into the ships exterior and had created huge holes within the metal. Illusion gave a light squeal of pain as she looked at her exposed bloody arms and gritted her teeth together from the torture. I winced at the thought of how painful that must have been for her. I moved my gaze over to my left to see the other black-and-purple snivy. He had both of his vines around the metal bars of the railing and had already pulled himself up to them, his stone somehow still in his arms. It was probably harder for him to hold on since he wasn't as experienced and chose to hold his stone, yet easier with both of the vines. Luckily all four of us had made it.

More problems were ahead of us, so there was no time for any congratulations. I pulled the rest of Rachel up, climbed over the railing, and glared at the humans. The royal-looking people were still basically stunned with fear, only a few of them looking as if they snapped out of it. The normal ones were eying me, Zeke, and Illusion with interest, none of them seeming to be looking at Rachel. A thought slipped my mind about the fact that Rachel was only a use to us by her smarts. She wasn't rare, unique, or anything special in any sort of way, but only her knowledge on humans was useful. I didn't even need the know anything about humans. Even though I knew some were good and bad, I still didn't like being around them as much. Why was humankind the dominant one in that world? It was as if they plagued the earth. I groaned in frustration but shoved the thoughts of Rachel and humankind away for the moment.

I scanned the group of humans, waiting for something to happen. "Is that a zoroark?" One of the humans had decided to speak up, seeing it was a rich-like person. He readjusted a piece of circular glass around his eye as if to get a better look.

"Are those snivy's?" two little girls said in unison, changing glances between me and Zeke. After a moment, one of the girls tugged on a snobby girl's leg. "What's wrong with it?"

_Wow, what an ego booster. _I thought sarcastically and shook my thoughts away. I felt my instincts begging me to run, that there was danger. It was telling me to survive, and I couldn't agree more. I prepared myself to run, tensing my muscles to do so already and surveyed the place. There was an exit to the left of the boat, more stairs heading down deeper into the boat. If I got there, I would just be hiding somewhere till this ship docked and we'd hopefully be at Castelia city.

Illusion had started running towards the staircase. She must have come up with the same plan. A boy with orange shorts had somehow gotten in front of the crowd and stared at Illusion with a smirk. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an all so familiar item. The red and white ball was clenched in his hand and he muttered something to himself, and dashed after the zoroark. I bit harder on my tongue, seeing Illusion could've been caught. I figured that if those normal people have gotten aboard that luxury ship, then they would have to be strong to earn a lot of earnings in order to afford it. The zoroark fell onto all fours and leaped down the stairs, not using the steps but leapt over all of them. The guy still ran after him.

Zeke was the next to do a move, surprisingly. He had retracted his vines back into his purple shoulders and started to dash towards the stairway. I watched the little snivy, knowing that he was doing the same thing Illusion was. This time one of the rich-like humans had stepped forward, some guy with a luxury ball in his palm. "That thing is a scientific discovery!" he exclaimed in triumph, as if he had already caught him. He gained a smirk just like that other kid from earlier.

I wasn't going to wait around till Zeke was fully gone till I ran off. Most of the humans' attention would be stuck on Zeke for a while and I'd have a bigger chance of getting away. I leaned towards Rachel and whispered in her ear. "On the count of three, we run." I didn't bother looking at her expression and kept my concentration on Zeke. He had noticed the snobby dude was starting to chase him and picked up the pace.

"One…" Zeke was nearing the stairs. The man stuffed one of his hands into a pocket.

"Two…" The man pulled out a regular Poke ball from the pocket. Most likely one of his Pokémon was in it. Zeke gave a surprised squeal, got a firmer grip on his stone, and sped up. I tensed up my muscles and got in a running position.

"Three!" I sprang forward with my eyes locked on the stairs. Hopefully Rachel was wise and would follow me. It was easy to see that I was faster than Zeke, most likely because I was more used to it and was bigger. Within seconds I had used my speed and caught up with the gentleman. My tail glimmered with a silver light, metal covering the exterior of the leaf-shaped appendage. Swiftly I moved my metal tail and slid it under where he was about to step next. His foot came down on my Iron Tail, and I did a complete spin and forced the human to lose balance. The iron that engulfed my tail had numbed any pain I would've had from the man's shoe. With a small smirk, I watched the man fall backwards and land with a thud on the wooden floor. My smirk disappeared when my current task came to mind and continued my mad dash towards the staircase. When I had tripped the man, I took a glance at Rachel to see her following. My tail had given off a last silver shine before it returned to the usual black and purple.

Luckily that trick I used would buy us enough time to get out of the man's sight, and he wouldn't see wherever we would've went. Zeke had reached the stairs and peered down. Rachel and I neared the stairs and then heavy thumping noises came from behind. Vibrations were sent across the deck and I bounced a bit from them, realizing that the humans were basically in a stampede towards us.

When I reached the staircase Zeke was halfway down and Illusion was out of sight. I stole a glance of the people over my shoulder. I noticed one of the guys in the front looked different from all the others. He had a hat in the shape of police officers, except it was white. He wore a pure white jacket, white jeans, white shoes, everything he had was white. There was a pocket on his shirt though and it had something in the shape of a star pinned to it, and it was the only thing that wasn't white, but it was painted gold. There was something engraved in the star, but I had no idea how to read human gibberish. All I knew was this man seemed important to some kind of level.

I turned around to notice Rachel and Zeke were at the bottom of the staircase and had run through the place slightly, out of sight. Quickly I leapt down, skipping several steps to get down faster. When I reached the bottom, I noticed we were in some hallway, and no one was in sight. Several maple doors were lining the walls, and I noted this ship had several rooms. Everything in the hallway was different shades of light brown, on rugs, wallpaper, patterns on the wallpaper, and other things. A few small tables in the corridor were a dark brown however, but they seemed to match. Everything seemed extremely expensive. I followed Rachel and Zeke a few yards down the hall till we stopped to regroup.

Dozens of mangled and muffled voices shouted from upstairs. The crowd was nearing the stairs already. I bit harder on my tongue but then gave a silent cry. I was biting my tongue so hard I just pierced it. The taste of fresh blood started to faintly fill my mouth. I wiped some of the warm liquid onto my hand, seeing a small amount of the gooey substance, a very dark red. Rachel and Zeke stared at my hand, but were more focused on the humans.

Zeke opened his mouth to speak. At that moment he was harshly interrupted when one of the doors in the corridor flung open. I jumped back to avoid myself getting smacked, but Zeke wasn't so lucky. He squealed in pain and flung back on the other side of the door. I noticed Rachel barely had dodged getting hit by the door and was right next to me. I observed that the door was so wide and the corridor was so small that the door basically blocked off me and Zeke.

Some fancy old lady was the cause of the door opening. "What is with all this noise!" she yelled in outrage, stomping a fancy shoe down on the light brown rug. When she moved her foot there wasn't even a small trace of dirt. "I came on this cruise ship for relaxation! I demand some peace and… quiet…" Her voice had trailed off, her gaze locked on me and Rachel. The once furious eyes she had were replaced with fear and distraught. She screamed and flailed her hands in the air, forcing Rachel's ears to press against her head. I took a step back, knowing something was going to happen.

The clattering of footsteps was faint in the distance. The crowd was dashing downstairs. I felt panic starting to course through me with all these thoughts. Zeke was stuck on the other side of the door, and I didn't have enough time to fetch him. Zeke was trapped between the crowd and the door, and unless he ran past the crowd down the other part of the corridor, he would be a goner.

"Zeke!" I called out, hoping he could hear me. "Run down the hallway, you don't have much time! We'll meet up later, but just go!" I didn't wait for a response, there was no time. I grabbed Rachel's attention by pinching one of her flattened ears. Her ears went from flat against her head to up and alert. She glared at me and was acting as if she totally forgot about the current predicament. "No time for that Rachel, we need to run!" Her anger transformed into determination and she nodded in understanding. With one last look at the screaming irritating lady I dashed down the corridor, the brown dog right by my side.

Slowly the screaming lowered in volume as she got a hold of herself, and as we gained a better distance. Soon the screaming completely stopped and it was a disturbing silence. About a minute of running later, there seemed to be no one around and we slowed to a walk. I thought that it was possible most of the people aboard had gone to the top deck, to see the gap in the bridge. That was probably why there was a lack of people inside the boat. The whole time I looked around the scene had never changed. It was all the same brown, brown doors, rugs, wallpaper, nightstands, and even Rachel was brown. I was completely out of contrast in the hallways and would've easily been spotted. Since the environment had been the same for a while, there wasn't any place to hide. I slowed to a stop and leaned against a wall to catch my breath.

Rachel sat down and stared at her front paws. "I hope Illusion and Zeke are okay," she muttered, a bit of guilt noticeable in her voice. "Who knows where they are and if they're safe? Do you think Zeke got away from the crowd or Illusion from that kid?" She had turned to face me, her eyes watery. The once calm lillipup I knew was starting to lose it.

I decided that I should've helped her calm down, and it'd be easier to get around and stay hidden. "I think Illusion was able to get away from the kid, she is a trickster Pokémon and can easily lose his trail," I reassured. I faked a smile to help her calm down.

"And Zeke?"

Honestly I thought he had a low chance of getting away from the crowd. He was half my speed, not even at my height yet, and was stumbling around with a stupid stone cradled in his arms. He wasn't that smart either, and he was still developing. He basically was still a kid. "He'll be alright, he's a smart kid," I lied.

Rachel formed a small smile on her face. The tears in her eyes seemed to melt away but the sadness was still planted on her face. Suddenly her small grin had transformed into a smirk. "Now come on, _Shasta,_" she snickered, emphasizing the word Shasta.

I quickly went from pity to anger. "Why do you keep calling me that? What does Shasta even mean?" I scowled. Her smirk got bigger.

"You wish you knew," she replied mysteriously with a sly grin. "Now come on Shasta." She started to pad down the hallway. I hated not knowing something; it was very irritating for me. When I wanted to know something, I did my best to find out right away, so I would do whatever it took to know what Shasta meant. If only Zeke was here, he turned out very social and friendly. It was one of his few skills.

We trudged down the corridors, the scene never changing. If I couldn't find out what Rachel meant by Shasta, I thought maybe she'd know some other things. "Rachel, did you see that one guy in the crowd? He was in all white and had a gold star pinned to a jacket pocket. Do you have an idea who it is?" I asked.

Luckily her sly attitude was gone. "Yeah, I saw the badge and saw it said captain. He must be the captain of the ship," she replied.

"Wait, shouldn't a captain drive the ship? What was he doing on the deck?!" I asked, starting to get slightly worried.

"He probably stopped the boat," she replied. "To check out the gap in the bridge."

I raised an eyebrow. "Wait a second, you could read those scribbles humans write?" I questioned, arms folded. She was able to read those weird lines that were on the gold star, how could she do that?

"Yeah, I've been around humans enough and it's actually pretty simple. It took me a year at most to read it," she explained, looking at the ceiling with a small smile as if she was reminiscing the old days.

There were so many things I didn't know about Rachel. She wouldn't even reveal why she wanted to go to Nimbasa city. I kind of wanted to know a bit about her history, since she already knew a bit about mine. "Rachel, how long have you been with humans?"

Rachel snapped out of her transfixed state about the past and stared at the ground. "Um, I guess all my life," she revealed. "I mean I started with my own trainer, and then went with Cilan at the Striaton gym. I've grown used to people ever since birth."

"What about your family?"

"Well it's been a while. I was born from two herdiers at my old trainer's house, and had a whole litter of brothers and sisters. I think both of my parents are still with my trainer, and I'm not sure if they evolved or not into a stoutland. If they had, it would be hard for them to live in the apartments we lived at… so I bet the trainer forced them to carry everstones or something." She didn't seem at all fazed about talking about her family, unlike me.

"Who are your brother and sisters?" I continued to ask. I wanted to get as much out of her as I could.

"Well you probably remember Sonny from Striaton city. He came with me when we left our old trainer. Altogether, I had one sister and three brothers. My sister was Luna, and my other two brothers were Rokko and Lebye. Luna was really nice, shy, and loyal, basically a best friend. Rokko was very alert, proud, and lively, acted like the protectors of the family. Lebye was extremely athletic and loved competition, but he was very gentle when competition wasn't involved and not to mention really playful." So Sonny was her brother, which was interesting. She was lucky to have such a good healthy family, and she most likely knew where they were and other things like that. I wasn't sure where my family was, except for Zeke.

"Wow, that's nice. Where are they?" I questioned.

That smirk came back to her face, after all that explaining she went back to the old attitude. "You wish you knew Shasta," she mocked. I felt anger starting to flood through me. Not knowing on what Shasta meant was frustrating! I wouldn't let her get what she wanted though. I tried my best to store that anger and probably use it against a human. If she saw me anger she'd continue to infuriate me. I forced a fake smile, even though it did hurt.

At that moment I finally saw a change in scenery. It wasn't much, but a door was wide open. We could've hid in that room. Plus the door was blocking the rest of the corridor, so it was either that or to head back. "Come on, we should hide in there," I suggested.

Rachel's smirk disappeared and then suddenly her face was written with sadness. What was with all those mood changes? "Shouldn't we head back and look for Illusion or Zeke?" she asked, eyes pleading for me to say yes.

What was with her? All the smirking, nicknames, snide comments, mystery, and all these mood changes! She wasn't as bland as I thought she was. "They'll be fine, they're not babies." _Well technically they weren't, but both acted a lot like them, _I added silently. "Let's head in." Before she could protest I got behind her and started to shove her into the room.

The place was smaller than I expected. It was almost too cramped for me, and I was basically a fourth of a human's size. I saw several buckets and bottles on rickety looking shelves. There wasn't even a bed or anything like that. I didn't think that a person could even stand in there. "Rachel, what is with this place? We can barely fit in here!" I exclaimed. It was only us in the room, but I didn't even have a foot radius of space.

"That's because we're in a supply closet," she muttered. "Shasta."

I gave her a death glare, but didn't say anything about it. "Then I guess we have to head back," I pointed out and padded out of the supply closet. I wasn't even sure what a supply closet was, but it seemed to be some sort of storage unit. Even though that was a hiding place, I wasn't going to stay in there all cramped for an hour.

Suddenly the ground shifted around. I lost my balance and stumbled forward while I flailed my arms in the air. I fell backwards and landed, on my back, and banged my head hard against the wall. I winced in pain, accidently biting my tongue again. I did a silent cry once again from that move and the taste of blood filled my mouth once more. I swallowed the liquid in disgust, not wanting to talk about it with Rachel. I really had to break that habit.

A bell noise rang through the hallway. The sound of static echoed through the corridor before a humans voice rang out. "Sorry for the temporary delay passengers." The voice seemed distorted from wherever it came from. I scanned the ceiling, detecting it came from somewhere above. Finally I saw a circle-like device and found that was the source of the human voice. "We had started up the ship again but be cautioned. There are four rogues Pokémon wandering the ship," it announced. Both Rachel and I gasped, instantly realizing who they were talking about. "We identified one of them as a lillipup and the other one an injured zoroark. The other two are small black and purple creatures that we're not sure what they are, but from their form they appear to be snivy. While walking around, stay alert, and we're almost at the dock. Thank you for your patience." That's when the voice fuzzed out, hearing a sort of clicking noise before it went dead silence.

At least I knew Zeke and Illusion were safe. They had said all four were roaming, so that means none of them got caught. The major news though was the fact that the whole ship knew about our presence and it was going to be more of a challenge not to stay unnoticed. The sudden shifting of the ground must have been the ship starting up again. My thoughts trailing elsewhere, I pointed at the circular device that had made the human sound and got read to ask Rachel what it was.

She beat me to it, as if she read my mind. "That's a speaker. It helps humans for certain purposes, mostly to inform others about pieces of information. For example the captain used them to tell every human onboard about us and now we're going to be tracked down," she explained, her voice sounding annoyed for the last sentence. "Now we have less time to find a place to hide. I bet all the people from the top deck had already run down here in search for us."

"Oh really, I totally didn't know that last part," I snapped, trying to make it obvious that I used sarcasm.

"Come on Shasta," she growled, leading the way back down the corridor where we came. I mumbled a few curse words to myself about her before following that know-it-all. I knew that forced to be with her the rest of the ride was going to be painful.

Less than a minute later I could hear the voices of people. I slowed down my pace to make less noise, Rachel copying my actions. As we sneaked towards a corner I shoved Rachel behind me and peered around it, not to mention hiding a smile from seeing Rachel's irritated face. There were a group of normal trainers and I recognized one of them as the boy in orange shorts that chased Illusion. There appeared to be four guys, all of them about the age of the boy. The three others had a mixture of cruelness and pleasure.

One of the boys, some dude with brown spikey hair, shoved the orange shorts boy. "You let it get away you wimp," he mocked.

Another one of the guys, a guy that seemed identical to the brown spikey haired one, stepped forward with a menacing glare. "Dude, who could lose sight of such a big Pokémon, because I mean it totally stood out in these hallways!" he teased.

The orange shorts guy glared at the two brown haired dudes but didn't say anything. Lastly, a guy with blue hair stepped forward with a smirk. "Wimp," he muttered, copying what one of the other guys was doing.

"It's not like you guys did anything, at least I tried unlike you three," he retorted.

That was just cruel. Pokémon didn't do what humans like these did. The fancy-looking humans even though were weak and pale seemed superior to these bunch of bullies. What probably made humans so populated in that world was the fact that they always resorted to violence. Pokémon did some things like that, but never fell to mindless bullying. Maybe the result of humans' violent minds is how they came up with Pokémon battles. Wild Pokémon battle for something or someone important, and a few for fun but those battles aren't taken too far. Humans downright send Pokémon thoughtlessly into battle, letting them fight their hearts out for cash and fame, the trainer getting all the praise and the Pokémon getting tortured.

"Come on," I whispered to Rachel. They were all paying attention to the boy, which was luckily making the three brats look in the opposite direction. Taking a last glance I scurried across with Rachel to the other side of the hallway. Peering around the corner, I noticed nothing altered except the blue haired dude curled his hand up into a fist. Soon there was going to be a fight, and even though I thought it was sickening for that mindless violence, it would help distract others.

When I saw no humans were around, I started to chat with Rachel. "That was awful, you really lived with people like that all your life?!" I questioned. I frankly wouldn't be able to live with people that long.

She scowled at me. "Of course not, there are some good and bad Pokémon trainers. The people I lived with were good, and those trainers back there were just… cruel. Shadow, I thought you learned how to get along with humans already."

That was the first time she had called me Shadow for hours. "I did learn that, but I still don't like to do it, especially cruel ones even though I never stayed with those kinds of humans before. I like to stay free and wild when no one can tell me what I can and can't do. Why do you like being with humans so much?"

She stopped talking, staring straight ahead. She sped up her pace till she was right in front of me. I furrowed my eyes at the stubborn lillipup even though she wouldn't even see it. I just couldn't figure her out.

I saw a door opened slightly by a crack. I slowed down my pace more so I was barely walking and sneaked towards the opening. Rachel slowed down slightly too but I could catch several flaws in her sneaking around. I hardly managed to keep myself from groaning in frustration from her inexperience, and soon made it to the crack. When I peered inside, the crack was too small to actually see anything. I used my leafy hands and moved the door open a little more. A weak creaking came from the door, indicating that the metal things that kept the door against the wall, which I learned were called bolts, were rusty.

"Keep it down!" Rachel shouted under her breath. "You're going to blow our cover!"

I glared at Rachel for one of the numberless times that night. "I'm going to blow our cover?!" I whisper-shouted. "Look who's talking, you've been making all sorts of noise all night that could have us spotted! Plus, the door bolts are rusty!" I punched her on the arm, barely letting up some of my frustration but I was still seething with rage. I ruffled the red scarf around her neck slightly. She opened he muzzle to most-likely say some sort of insult.

A sharp pain suddenly struck through my skull. I winced from the pain and kneeled down, the searing feeling coursing through me. My vision swirled around slightly till it all went black. A familiar light blasted through the darkness like lightning and an eerie high-pitched ring blasted my ears.

I didn't see any images, but a voice sounded out. It was very foreign and I didn't recognize it. "Rachel, you came home!" The voice sounded high-pitched and friendly, and I deciphered it as a female human. I heard the same girl giggling a bit before it went all mute. The lightning coursed through my vision then suddenly I came back to reality. It took me a moment to recollect my thoughts, then I realized those weird visions were back. It had been weeks and I thought they were gone for good.

"T-The visions… they're back," I thought.

"What visions?" Rachel asked. I realized that I had said that out loud, so I cursed myself under my breath. I then noticed I was kneeling down on the floor. Rachel was staring at me with a look of concern but some anger was still noticeable. I forced myself to stand up.

There was no way I was letting this bratty Pokémon know about the mysterious visions I have been having. For a moment I felt like I should've told her, since that vision was about her slightly, but she was still being a real bi-

My thoughts trailed off when I realized Rachel was staring at me with an obnoxious expression. "It's nothing," I hissed and remembered the current task. I walked back towards the door I had opened slightly, and now the opening was big enough for me to step through. I moved to the side and squeezed through the small gap. I took in the image of the room, but lost concentration when a creaking sound came from behind me.

I swerved around to see Rachel moving the door a little more, the sound screeching in my ears. "Can you stop it?!" I shouted in a hushed whisper.

"The door bolts are rusty," she mimicked, her voice altered to sound like a toddlers. She really knew how to push my buttons. She moved the door a bit more, my leaf hands against my head in agony, till she made a big enough space for her. She padded in with a look of satisfaction.

It was difficult to keep myself from insulting the crabby lillipup. I forced myself to look around the room. It was luckily empty, so the noise that Rachel made didn't affect anything. That room was actually a bedroom, with a nicely made bed, an expensive looking nightstand, and some potted plants. Some reason the walls were still the same light brown, but the rug was now a nice shade of red. Finally there was some color added. There was another door in the room and it was wide open. Inside the other room it was small, just like the supply closet. Except instead of bottles and buckets being in it, there were several kinds of clothes, hats, and shoes. I recalled that those were just called closets.

"We could hide in here," Rachel suggested. That must have been the best thing I've heard her say all day. I moved the door behind us so it was back to a small crack, and then finally felt my nerves relax.

"Finally I can have a break from huma-" I started, but was harshly interrupted from a voice outside. _Oh great…_

It was a male voice, and it had a sort of royal accent added to it. "Oh, did my bedroom door just move?" it questioned. Hearing his ask a question implied he was with someone. Right when I thought I had a break!

Then I realized the dude was talking to himself, since I heard no response. Light footsteps pounded against the floor, slowly getting louder as he grew closer.

"Hide!" Rachel growled; already back to her despicable self. "In the closet, hurry!" Without question I followed the canine into the small room. Before I ran in I grabbed the edge of the door and slowly pulled it shut while I entered. I couldn't pull it all the way close so there was a small crack we could see through, which was a good thing. I was scrunched up against a pair of boots and a black sleeve of some suit was draped over one of my eyes. I pushed the sleeve away and tried to push the boot back into a corner.

"Looks like you've done something right for once Shasta, leaving the door open a slice," Rachel teased. I felt my anger flood back into my system but barely managed to keep my mouth shut. I leaned in close to the door crack to see the front door creak open. A man stepped in, and I realized it was the snobby dude that had chased Zeke on the deck earlier. He had the circular glass around his eye and very formal expensive clothes. He did come in alone, proving he had talked to himself in the empty corridor. He fully shut the door behind him and turned something on the knob which I noticed was a lock.

"Great, now we're trapped in here," I muttered, my tail drooping into a sandal.

The obnoxious lillipup shoved me away from the small source of light, throwing me into the shadows and was shoved into a boot. "Let me see," she demanded, now peering out of the crack. I gritted my teeth together, biting my tongue in annoyance. A sharp pain shot through my tongue but I used my rage to numb the pain. I gulped down the blood I forced out with my attention still stuck on Rachel.

In return I pushed her out of the way by shoving her with my tail into the wall. A light thud came from her hitting the wall but I didn't care. I saw the man was sitting down on the bed still mumbling things to himself. "Stop being a hog you flea-bag," I insulted.

"Well stop making noise you before-image of a reptilian purse, or we'll be spotted," she retorted, even though I wasn't really sure what a purse was. She tackled into me and sent me sprawled head-first into one of the boots. My head had somehow gotten stuck in the feet protection for humans, and when I used my arms to push me out I realized I was stuck. The air was stiff and humid inside the boot, and some sort of rancid odor wafted into my nose. I silently cried out for fresh air, my attempts of getting myself out of the boot growing with each killer breath I took in.

Finally I was able to squeeze out of the footwear. I took in a deep breath of fresh air, relief flooding my veins. Being trapped in that boot with that horrifying stench was a very cruel and unusual punishment! I shot a death glare at the lillipup peering out of the door crack. I got into attack stance and ran forward, full-out tackling Rachel in her side. Since I had tackled her at the same angle I sent her flying into the wall, a louder thud came from when she smacked against the wall, and she fell limp to the floor. Unfortunately the stupid fur ball stood up shakily after that, throwing a disgusted look at me.

"Shasta, come on now, don't get so feisty," she growled, a small smirk showing up when she said Shasta but it had vanished quickly. I felt my rage start to boil up from the name.

"Shut up!" I yelled, but wasn't worried about making noise anymore. "Stop calling me that, what does that even mean?!"

"You wish you knew," she taunted with a sly brow. I wanted to bite my tongue to help control my fury, but didn't want force any more blood out of me. She had started to run forward to tackle me. When she got near I jumped over her swiftly, landing behind the charging lillipup. I used my tail to hit Rachel before she went too far and slapped her against some clothes, accidently getting her tangled in a suit. I pointed a finger and laughed at the frustrated Pokémon.

She somehow quickly gotten free from the clothing, but before I could react she pounced down from the suit and pinned me to the carpet. I struggled to get free, but she had me in a tight grip. I hissed at the girl with anger clouding my eyes. I could easily think of a dozen names for her, but all of them were inappropriate. I then realized my tail wasn't pinned, and Rachel couldn't pin it if she wanted to. I tensed the leaf shaped appendage and slapped the Pokémon off of me, sending her lopsided on the carpet. The hit wasn't enough to send her into a wall.

Now when I glanced at the lillipup, I felt anger shoot through every molecule in my body. Several times I felt as if we were the only ones in the world, but in a frustrating way. I let out all the frustration and anger I kept in, I released all of it. I would use my anger to strengthen my attacks and to numb the pain. I had taken her with us on our journey, and she barely had done anything in return. I could've easily refused her offer way back when, but I was starting to be nice around that time. Now I was going to rip her into shreds, limb from limb.

Hate had glazed her eyes. She had no right to be angry with me, I had done nothing! She ran forward with her teeth sharpened, a dark mist emitting from it for a Crunch. To counter the dark type attack, I pulled my arm back as the same kind of mysterious mist engulfed it. My fingers stretched out into deadly claws and I braced the limb to send forward. A thought came to mind of sending my Shadow Claw straight pass her scarf and into her neck. I wanted to see her sprawled out on the ground in a limp state, in a pool of thick dark red blood and her eyes rolled in the back of her head.

When I realized what I was thinking, I shook those murderous intentions away. That wasn't who I was anymore, I wasn't that dark snivy that was hated and despised, but a better Pokémon. Although I still was going to show that flea bag to stop messing with me, and I didn't give the image of a dead lillipup one last thought.

I sprang forward and tried to dig my claws deep into her side. That would surely end the fight. Rachel had her eyes fixed on my tail, most likely aiming for that area. When I had moved to the side, about to send my needle-like claws into her flank, a bright light intruded my vision. It took a moment for my night eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness, but I decided to cancel my attack and felt my claws turn back into my normal fingers. Something rough gripped onto my neck, something huge and it was able to grip half of my body. The ground disappeared from under my feet as I cringed in whatever had grabbed me.

My eyes finally adjusted to the light. The snobby man had swung open the closet door and grabbed me by the neck, and lifted me into the air. His other hand held a squirming ball of brown fur, Rachel. I forced myself out of my cringed state and tried to squeeze out of the man's grip. Surprisingly he had a strong hold on me, even though he seemed like a weakling. "Looks like I've caught two of those rogues Pokémon that fell from the bridge," the man announced proudly to himself. He peered closer at me, making me struggle more in his hand. "This doesn't look like that other mutated Pokémon I had chased, but it's that other one that tripped me." His grip hardened on my neck, now having trouble breathing.

I knew he was going to take me to the captain, and there was no way to escape. The man had his hand covering my shoulders so I couldn't use my vines. My tail was clenched in his hand as well so I couldn't use that either. I wasn't strong enough to break free of his grip, my arms were trapped in his palm, I couldn't bend my head down to bite him, and it was a struggle to even breathe. I opened my mouth to talk, and when I squealed slightly it came out hoarse and raspy.

"Shadow?" I heard Rachel's voice question. I tried to turn and see her, but the man was holding me so I was looking away from the lillipup. "Shadow?!" Her voice didn't sound as bad as mine, but she did sound worried. The cruel man was purposely trying to choke me, I thought. I gave up on trying getting out of the man's hand so I could gasp for air. Luckily since I stopped struggling, the man loosened his grip, allowing me to breathe normally. I took the opportunity to talk to the worried lillipup.

"I'm fine, Rachel," I reassured. I felt guilt weighing on my shoulders from that brawl in the closet. I even had that sick murderous thought, and I couldn't even forgive myself for that. I had turned so… dark back there. It was like I was my old self, the hated despised one back in Eterna forest. I sighed, and knew a step to staying away from my terrible past was apologizing. "Rachel…" I hoped I had her attention. I never really apologized for anything before, so it was a new experience. "I'm… sorry for how I acted. I just lost my mind back there, and was slightly frustrated. Can you forgive me?"

I waited for a response. When she didn't speak up, disappointment started to set in. "Of course, now stop with apologizes, we need to get out of here!" she suddenly blurted out. She had also snapped me back to the current situation, but there was no use for me. Everything was cleverly covered so that I couldn't break free. It was possible the same thing was happening to Rachel, if she hadn't gotten out yet.

"It's no use Rachel; we're not going to get out of here!" I screamed, panic starting to cloud my mind. The calm self I just was had quickly disappeared and I had barely kept myself from hyperventilating. I knew if I started to try and squeeze my way out of the man's hand again, I would start to be choked again. The only things I could do were basically breathe, speak, and wiggle my feet.

"Don't say that, don't lose hope!" she demanded. I wished I could see what she looked like. I couldn't tell if she was determined or worried, or if she was anything else.

"We're going to get caught, face the facts! It's best if we stop struggling and just wait for our fates!" I exclaimed. The man had already opened his door with his knuckles and kicked it close behind him, now walking down the bland hallways.

I heard her give a low growl. "Don't just give up! What happened to that old determined snivy I used to know?! It's never over till it's over, never give up, and it might just turn out into a better scenario! Now stop lying limp in this man's palm and try to get free!" she yapped, sounding pretty determined. The way she said that speech was surprisingly inspirational. She was right, I couldn't give up, and I had to keep going. Just because I was trying to go nice, didn't mean I had to go soft.

Soon I was struggling in the snobby dude's hand. He clenched slightly harder, but I wouldn't give up. I shoved against the man's fingers with all I had. I flailed my tail around as much as I could in his grip, not letting hit get a firmer grip on me. Fortunately I was able to keep him from squeezing any tighter, and I was still able talk. Then while I was struggling, there was one plagued thought stuck on my mind, and I just had to find an answer.

"Rachel, just in case we don't get out of this, I need to know one thing! What does Shasta mean?" I questioned.

"Is this really the best time to ask Shadow?!" she growled, panic-stricken.

"Answer me!" I ordered, still trying to get free.

"Fine!" she compromised with a bitter tone. "Back where my family was, there was a legend in the town. It was about a green electric type Pokémon named Shasta, and he was an electrike!" Rachel had paused before she continued, most likely having to take a breath. "Shasta wasn't the brightest Pokémon. He had done many stupid things, and couldn't even see the difference between a panpour and a pansear!"

"What does that have to do with anything?!"

"Well in my family, we used to call each other Shasta when we didn't think when doing things, mainly when we do something idiotic!" I still wasn't getting the point. I felt as if I was on the verge of getting it, but I didn't really have it quite yet.

"So?!" I continued to pester, feeling fatigue setting in but I wouldn't stop struggling.

She groaned in frustration. "Shasta means 'Moron'!" she stated dryly.

"Wait a minute, this whole time you've been calling me a moron, what the heck?!" I hissed, feeling that earlier rage come back. I heard her snicker slightly. _She's doing that now?!_

That was the last little push I needed. Anger flooded through my body as a new dangerous burst of energy blasted into me. I started to pry the man's fingers off, by pushing them with my elbows filled with rage. The rich man had gasped, but I paid him no attention. I took one last deep breathe and shot my arms out wide, knocking myself out of his sweaty grip.

I tumbled to the ground, realization striking me. I stared up at the human that towered over me, a large frown on his face. I could detect the worry and fear in his eyes however, causing me to smirk. When he reached down to grab me I jumped back a few feet, to stay out of reach long enough to scare him away. I held one of my arms close to my side and concentrated my dark mutated energy within me. Within the second a dark dust substance similar to coal powder cloaked my arm. My three fingers grew into the shape of thin daggers, twice as long as normal. I forced a fake evil smile on my face, hopefully intimidating the crazed human.

The frown he had grew deeper. He didn't seem frustrated any longer and his fear practically radiated off of the guy. His fingers went limp, and I watched with glee as Rachel pried herself out of the grubby hand. I took a step closer to the man, forcing him to take a step back. Rachel curled up her lips to reveal a deadly snarl, showing her sharp teeth and the crazed look she had faked in her eyes. Her snout wrinkled up to give her an even more evil composure. She had perfectly mirrored the look of a vile Pokémon.

He couldn't take it anymore. A few second later after looking at us, ready to rip his limbs off, he dashed down the hall in long strides. No sane human would stay around two crazy-looking Pokémon, without any of his own Pokémon present with him. He most likely had left his Poké balls back in the room, a big mistake.

I canceled my Shadow Claw for the second time that night. A weary feeling made its way to me when I gave out a long yawn. Too much action in one day for me, and I've been up all night. Soon the person had disappeared down the hall, leaving us alone along the brown scene. Before I had even thought about looking a Rachel, a bell ring came from the ceiling. I looked up to see another one of those speakers, and that bell ringing was signaling another announcement. I had a feeling that Zeke or Illusion was caught, and they were explaining how much Pokémon were left.

It came out as the static filled voice. "Attention passengers. We are minutes away from docking at Castelia City. Please gather up your personal belongings and wait at the exit to get off. More news, none of the rogue Pokémon were took in so stay on alert on your way out and be careful, there have been reports that some people almost caught a few of them but they have been noted that the zoroark has not been tamed. Thank you for cruising with us."

I felt so relieved, Illusion and Zeke haven't been caught, but it seemed that Illusion had it rough. I turned towards Rachel, seeing her soft brown eyes filled with relief. Before I spoke up she did it first. She moved a furry brown paw and pointed at a slice of wood hanging on the wall, cut in the shape of an arrow. "See that Shadow, it says exit, which means if we continue down this hall we'll reach the exit. Zeke and Illusion should meet us up there, if they're thinking correctly," she grinned. A tired smile was on her face, indicating she was just as exhausted as I was. "Come on, let's go." And with those words we ran down the hall towards the exit.

**Author's Note: WOW that was way longer than I expected. 9000 words, that's a lot! Maybe I should've put a little bit more paragraphs in the previous chapter, but I just wanted to leave off with a cliffhanger. It's been a while since I've done that (If I had done that at all actually o.O). Oh well. And I put this up a little early. I said it'd be on the weekend, but I have to go somewhere this weekend, unfortunately, so it's on Friday! Going with my dad somewhere… family things! I might get to drive an ATV, awesome. In your faces, but at least you get an early chapter! I expect when I get back to see a review from StarryNight173, since she's so awesome. First one to review my story in a long time, so thanks for being a spectacular fan Starry!**

**Huh, I feel as if that's the first time I mentioned an author in a story or something. Oh well, whatever! Hope you liked the chapter, and I just loved how I made Shadow and Rachel bicker so much. Really got out of hand! I wanted to add some more fun to this story I guess, I don't know, that's just how my imagination works! For my chapters I start off with a general idea of what's going to happen, and when I get there I let my imagination take off for the scenes! I was going to add a little more stuff to the ending, but this chapter's already SO long. I think this is my longest chapter yet, broke the record for one of my BoltBlast chapters. Yep, longest chapter of mine so far right here people~! Ha, this author's note was a little silly, but who cares. Let's keep this up, so here's an awesome smiley face, just for you!**

**:D**


	15. Confrontation

** Hey guys I know it's been a while but with the events you'll see and the detail I put, it'll be worth it! Thanks for waiting!**

**Diamond's POV**

I continued to force myself to trudge through the sand mounds with the bitter sandstorm raging around me. Sulking behind me was a Pokémon that nearly blended in with the surroundings, the smudgy spot on his back the only indication that Falcon was still there. As we continued to trudge against the storm, the musty sand got caught in each of our pelts that made our fur look lifeless ever since the first day we set out in the terrain. During all the suffering, we still never forgot our objective of tracking down and capturing that mutated snivy.

The irritating substance burned my eyes, but slowly I had adapted to the pain. Everything was a murky brown and the only times the scenery appeared to change was when an occasional cactus came into sight. Falcon and I had been stuck in the desert for weeks against a never-ending sandstorm. Hopefully we were nearing Castelia city and would be out of the wretched desert soon enough. We decided to travel at night when the air was coolest to avoid the deadly heat during daylight, and when dawn approached we had to shelter behind boulders and in sand piles. Unfortunately not one day had gone by without us being fatigued, and one of us passed out every few days from the hunger and pain we had to endure. We found some dropped and nearly rotten berries in the sand that we ate, and we even resorted to some dropped Pokémon food. A few times we jumped struggling trainers and stole any food or water they had in order to survive.

At the moment everything was coated in darkness, specks of light dotting the black sky above. A sliver of a moon hanged above and helped provide a slight light through the sandstorm. The sand wasn't hot at all, but a numbing cold. Pressing on through the onslaught of sand, I continued to endure the pain of the environment. I recently had a thought reoccur to me if all of this was worth it, but always answered it with the same thing. It was worth it, if it meant I could evolve and my only unshared dream came true. I'd sacrifice my own pelt and tail to evolve if I had to.

The lillipup behind me spoke up, his voice raspy and hoarse. "D-Diamond," he coughed. I stifled a growl as I turned around to face Falcon. His brown eyes were dull and hardly noticeable, his fur was ruffled and sticking up in all the wrong directions and his limbs were shaking uncontrollably with the threat of collapsing underneath him. His eyes was pleading with mercy behind the gritty sand . "Diamond, can we… rest," he begged with his ears and tail lowered.

"No!" I snarled, forcing the Pokémon to shrink back in fear and submission. "Not until sunrise!" With Falcon's ears and tail lowered even more than before and any signs of happiness drained from him, I swerved around to face the trail of endless sand, and forced myself to walk against the sandstorm once more.

Not even my thick brown fur could protect me from the cold. During the day people were baked under the sun, while at night it became a frozen wasteland. The sand was frigid while a glacial wind blew around the harsh terrain. The feeling was gone in the tips of my ears, paws, and legs. A sudden gust blew an enormous amount of the vile sand into my face, a small amount of pain coming up before turning numb. I shook my head vigorously, shaking some chilling sand away and quickened my pace. The sooner I got out of that wretched environment, the better it was for us.

I estimated about an hour going by, nothing seemingly to change. As my paws and tail grew number I padded on with my teeth clenched. The moon made some distance in the sky and the stars appeared to shift around slightly. Each step became harder and harder, the coldness grew more frigid, and I felt my thoughts slowly slip away from time to time. In order to keep conscious I counted my paw steps, hoping to push against the sand with those thoughts in mind.

A few more hours had passed along, each one more painful and felt longer than the last. I wasn't sure if Falcon was still following or not but interrupting my current system of staying conscious would be destroyed if I checked. Pure will and determination was the last things keeping me going. I had counted up to about two thousand steps, seeing it became even more difficult to keep count and prevent my thoughts from disappearing as the hours passed. My stomach rumbled lightly but in my mind it was louder. I was famished and parched, on the brink of unconsciousness. Doubt started to sink in and I knew that I'd probably have to take shelter again somewhere in the desert, and rob a trainer that would hopefully come by for food and water.

Minutes later the scene changed on the horizon. A blur of gray suddenly started to appear, but too far in order to see what it was. My ears which I have been too tired to keep up had lifted slightly. I started to walk faster against the sandstorm, feeling my small amount of hope strengthen. The scene started to shift around, forming into rectangles and then I saw tiny amounts of light dotting the new color. I would've sped up but my condition wouldn't let me without seeing black frame my vision. Then I stopped briefly and rubbed my paws against my eyes, sliding and rubbing sand out. After blinking to make sure most was out, I looked back at the grayness and my hopes quadrupled. Buildings, they were stone buildings, and light were shining through the rows of windows. We made it through the desert, that harsh warped terrain, and made it to Castelia city!

I turned around, seeing a marred exhausted lillipup meters behind. He was staring directly down at the sand and clearly didn't notice the city. Scowling, I let out a high-pitched bark in order to get his attention. He moved his gaze up with eyes that told you the lillipup was thinking of dark thoughts equal to death. Sand stained every strand of his fur and crusty tears had dried under his eyes, giving off a gloomy pitiful appeal. When his eyes darted at me with his miserable stare, it moved to something that was behind me, the city, then those eyes shot wide open. For a minute you could tell Falcon was pondering if this was either a mirage or proof that he died and went with Arceus. When he realized what was before him, a smile inched across his face, a small one hardly noticeable in the still raging sandstorm. His eyes remained dull but a hint of ecstasy was revealed.

Quickly I faced the city again, and then started to sprint through the sand piles. I couldn't wait till I was out of that sandstorm infested place and in the city. Even though there were humans and I knew I had to stay in the shadows, it was a million times better then rotting in a pile of frigid sand. Plus I was that much closer to capturing that warped snivy, the one that was said to be black and purple, and that other snivy Falcon had sniffed out back at the log den in Eterna. With a small glance at the sky, I used my knowledge of how the stars were starting to disappear and the moon was becoming transparent as a fact that about in less than an hour it'd be sunrise. The cold sand resting at my paws had already started to feel a bit neutral in temperature. And therefore, I sprinted through the sand, knowing I was closer to food, water, and who was known as Shadow.

**Rachel's POV**

It had been so long before I felt so comfortable. Last time I recalled feeling that comfortable was back in Striaton city in my pet bed. Ever since then I have either been knocked out, slept inside that rock back in Nacrene, or in a tight burrow. I snuggled deeper into whatever I was sleeping on, warmth wrapping around me and leaving me in a blissful state.

Light intruded my vision, causing myself to throw a paw over my eyes in hopes of blocking it off. Unfortunately I could only dim it with my paws, the light making me feel a little ticked off. I didn't want to wake up and leave the comfort, I wanted to continue and sleep!

The rays were too much and too bright. Irritated, my brown eyes snapped open, knowing I wouldn't get some rest for a long time. When I attempted to stand up the weariness was dragging at my legs. My whole body was begging to lie down, but I refused. I blinked several times to adjust to the light, than stared at my surroundings, trying to recall the events of yesterday.

Below me was a thick layer of warm sand. It wasn't cold, yet it wasn't hot either, just neutral. Glancing behind me I saw an indent in the sand in the shape of a canine. I had been sleeping in a big pile of warm comforting sand; no wonder I didn't want to wake up. The sand was shaded by a pier right above which was responsible from keeping the sand at a neutral temperature. Surrounding the outline of the sand that passed beyond the pier was the tide. Letting my gaze wander, I saw the sleeping figures of two black snivys and a zoroark curled up also under the pier in piles of sand.

My thoughts slowly returned to me. Last night once we escaped the cruise ship, Shadow and I had found Zeke and Illusion unharmed. Exhausted, all four of us quickly snuck under one of the piers and fell asleep, luckily not spotted by any of the pedestrians. I sighed at our narrow situations and saw my dusty red scarf was on the ground nearby. Sand had buried most of it though and only the tips were poking out. With a roll of the eyes I padded over and grabbed an edge of the cloth with my muzzle, and I pulled the murky scarf out, a small amount of dust flying around for a moment.

With a smooth gesture I was capable of wrapping the red scarf around my neck again, after shaking the dust and sand from it first. I forced myself to stretch my spine and sore limbs while a long yawn escaped my mouth. My weary eyes gazed at the three sleeping Pokémon scattered around under the pier, but then stopped on the biggest of the two snivys. I stifled a laugh and a groan at the earlier events of what we went through. We were stuck together, alone, and wandering the hallways of the cruise ship. We had been separated from Illusion and Zeke, and got annoyed pretty quickly with each other. We were forced to head back the way we came when we were blocked by a custodian closet's door, passed by a group of human jerks, hid in a gentlemen's closet, and barely escaped from the same gentlemen that had a strong grip. I even recalled Shadow gave up on getting out of the man's hand and I had to say some sort of speech in order to inspire him.

I snorted at the events with Shadow. He was grumpy, lazy, and complained about things all the time. Not like I didn't understand why he did some of those things, like how he was tortured and experimented on in a laboratory and grew up with a hatred of humans. It was lucky for him that he learned to get along with humans a while before I joined the journey, or else it'd be a challenge for me to teach him. I didn't get why he seemed lazy and complained about me a bunch however. He seemed to be all right and okay until we came to the ship and got separated. He seemed to be sluggish as he walked around, and while doing that he complained on what I was doing.

Tired, I decided. He was just tired most likely, for trekking through a forest all day, chasing Illusion through the trees, and plummeting about a hundred yards from a ship and barely managing to hold both me and himself up with his vines, also not to mention we stayed up for about half the night. The nickname Shasta I gave him must have really ticked him off. I snickered at how Shadow reacted to the name, and about that electrike. I laughed out loud to myself at what the nickname really meant. The electrike wasn't actually dumb but just a very grumpy Pokémon –just like Shadow was-, but during the situation we were in, back on the ship with the gentleman, I knew that anger would help him break free. And it worked.

I moved my head to look outside the pier. The tide was starting to come in and would soon cover up all the sand beneath the pier. The water had already started covering sand in the shadow of the deck above, indicating we had to find some other place to go soon. Then I padded right to the water's edge and leaned forward to look up at the sky. The sun was actually nearly in the middle which shocked me slightly. We had been sleeping that long? Instantly my gaze moved back to the three sleeping Pokémon. I was reminded that I was sleeping with three mutant dudes who were basically idiots.

A mischievous smile made its way to my muzzle. I had a chance of payback at Shadow for last night and for the entire grumpy attitude he had. Slowly I snaked my way through the sand, pass the sand piles, around the smaller sleeping snivy and silly zoroark, and saw the snoring mutant at my paws. My grin remained while my head leaned down to where I thought his ear was. Snivy's didn't have ears, so I just bent my neck near to where I thought they would've been.

_"__You have seven days to live__," _I screeched wildly, making my voice sound warped and twisted with a hint of crazy in it. His eyes snapped open the size of saucers and he jumped to his feet. His strange blue eyes showed he was ready for a battle. He bared his viper-like fangs, his tail standing straight out, his tiny grass hands curled into fists. It took him a few seconds of hysterical silence before he realized what was really happening.

His eye twitched with irritation. "You bitc-"

A little trick just made things a lot more personal. It was obvious what he was going to say. I harshly cut him off by kicking a small pebble into his mouth during mid-sentence, causing him to choke, wheeze, and pound on his stomach to spit it up. Soon it was coughed up, covered in saliva and sinking into the sand.

"Arceus!" he screamed, rubbing his hand on his forked tongue to get the gritty taste out, eyes filled with disgust. Barely had I held back my laughter. A groan sounded from over my shoulder in the midst of Shadow trying to get the taste out, causing me to look back to see that the other two guys woke up from my little trick.

"What did you do now Rachel…?" Illusion groaned groggily while he stretched.

I tried to look offended, not like I really was. I attempted a fake gasp and made a hurtful frown instead of my smile. "How could you accuse me of such a thing?" I asked innocently.

Zeke had no trouble frowning despite that weary look in his eye. He lazily held his muddy stone in a grip, which somehow he kept through the cruise. "You're right by Shadow, who looks ticked off, and we woke up from Shadow nearly saying the you-know-what word." I couldn't help but giggle a bit. Illusion also giggled through his tired state.

"Great, just what we need on a dangerous mission: two giggly girls," Shadow hissed. My ears shot up with surprise and Illusion looked quite offended. Did Shadow think Illusion was a girl, even after she said she was a guy back at the restaurant?

Standing there with a firm and furious glare was Illusion. He huffed a few times while he took heavy, angst-filled steps towards the snivy till he was about a foot away. "I will spill your guts on the floor. Do you want that to happen?" Illusion growled fiercely, seething through his words.

Shadow raised a brow and shrugged innocently. "What did I do?" he asked, his own anger forming from the fact he was being accused of something.

The angered zoroark reached his red claws down till it was stiffly clenched around the foolish snivy's neck, than he thrusted him up till he held him right above his head. He used his paw to keep Shadow's eyes locked with his. "I'm… not… a… GIRL!" he hollered in his face while an eye twitched. I nearly laughed when I saw the sweat beading down the side of Shadow's face, a bit of fear present in his eyes.

"You AREN'T?!" Zeke blurted out with eyes wide in astonishment. Mentally I face-pawed at both of their stupidity.

"You two are idiots," I growled. Neither seemed that hurt mainly because of Illusion's rage.

"Jerk," Illusion spat while he dropped Shadow. He fell with a thud in the sand, anger clouded in his gaze, but fear still visible. He wanted to say something but he seemed too upset to form actual words, so instead he stamped his foot, crossed his arms, and shot Illusion a death glare. If he noticed his stare, he didn't seem to really mind it.

Quickly my thoughts shot back to what I was going to say in the first place. "Hey guys, the tide is rising, we need to get moving and fast," I informed.

Zeke cocked his head on the side while he walked up to the lapping water. He tapped it with his foot. He bended over the water and stared at his wavered reflection, then he started to make goofy faces. I forgot that this was the first time Zeke was actually that close to an ocean before. Wow he was doing some stupid things.

I shook him off my mind to see Illusion prepared to leave. Shadow grunted and lay back in a pile of sand with a relaxed look. "Can't we just rest for a while?" he asked. "We've been through a lot of things last night."

That was why I was still in charge. I stomped over to him and flipped him over, making him face down in the sand. I heard a few muffled curses but I just walked off with an annoyed expression. Zeke leaned too close to the water and fell in. He was screaming his head off about how the salt burned his eyes so much. Illusion pointed a paw at Zeke and mocked him, laughing, not even struck with the slightest thought that he should've helped him.

I'm traveling with a bunch of morons. Oh wait, I knew that already.

Nimbly I pulled Zeke from the water and let him use my scarf to wipe his eyes. Illusion I scolded like he was a child. Shadow… I didn't care about him that much. At least he could take care of himself. I was starting to feel like a mom around those fools, but I just had to cope. They still were useful and I still needed a guide to Nimbasa. Plus, they were still friends.

Long story short, my scarf was back around my neck, Shadow was calmed down and walking behind me, Illusion was letting Zeke lie down on his shoulder, and we were on top of the pier. We knew we had to get through that city to continue or journey, or at least hide out in some alley. Illusion was ahead with Zeke, leaving me in the center, and Shadow alone in the very back. Some reason that snivy was still stubbornly grumpy. I wish he went back to the nice self.

**Shadow's POV**

After being rudely woken up by a smart-mouthed lillipup, I had gotten the taste of sand etched in my mouth, got insulted a lot, and learned that Illusion was a guy. I felt so dumbfounded at that last one that I wasn't sure what to say. I just wanted to slap myself at not realizing it sooner, and not remembering he said he was a guy back at the restaurant. I thought he was going to kill me, he seemed so angry.

An exasperated sigh escaped my lips. What was really bugging me was the fact that this was my journey, and was _only _supposed to be my journey, but then all these bystanders came into the picture and took control of everything. _I was walking at the very back and didn't have a say in anything anymore, and this is my freaking journey!_ Talk about extremely irritating.

Despite my annoyance, it was very unnerving being out in the open. It was the middle of the day, and humans were around every corner. Hopefully someone had a plan; because mine was hide out somewhere till it was dark, than sneak through the shadows for a smaller chance of being seen, but since we were out and about, the others were more worried on keeping themselves from the Casteliacone stand, whatever that was. A zoroark, two mutant snivy, and a lillipup couldn't just waltz around one of the biggest cities in Unova without a huge crowd forming to see the freak show. Well, except Rachel. Lillipup are common everywhere, like really adaptable pests.

Fortunately no one was on the pier we were on, except for some guy in front of a small ship, lying on a lounge chair in a deep sleep while his skin burned a bright red. He was going to freak out when he woke up. There was no snow in Castelia unlike the pass cities, but it was probably the pollution and carbon in the air that was preventing that. It felt a bit strange that we headed slightly north and there was no more snow.

Illusion dropped slowly onto all fours and started to crawl around the place, as if scanning the area in a goofy fashion. Illusion was starting to hum some sort of dramatic music as he darted from place to place. "He's whistling the mission impossible theme," Rachel sighed, sitting down and watching the zoroark move around idiotically. If I had ears than I'd yank on them so much in annoyance, because everyone but Rachel was sane at the moment! Why did I have to bring those two idiots along…?

Suddenly I heard Rachel gasp, but it was cut short after a choking sound was uttered. My head swerved in her direction, my eyes wide again because she was gone. I frantically looked around, nerve wrecked, hoping to find her in sight. Rachel somehow vanished when I, literally, only looked away for one second. My worried gaze shifted to Illusion and Zeke, seeing they hadn't altered from their dumbness in any way. They didn't seem worried about anything anymore and just darted from garbage can to garbage can, pretending like they were some sort of stalker.

I felt a stir in the air. Instantly I swerved 180, determined to find out where Rachel went. I saw a flash of brown but that was all. I curled my lips back to bare my viper fangs, hoping to help intimidate whoever was out there. Whatever it was, it almost did to me what it did to Rachel, and it would've if I didn't turn around. I considered the thought that it was Rachel because of the flash of brown, but she wasn't that fast, and wouldn't even consider pulling another prank at a time like that.

"ILLUSION LOOKS A-MPFH!" Zeke cried, his words becoming muffled before he could finish. I turned around again to see the two again. A flash of black and brown was what I saw that time, leaving a very confused zoroark there. Someone was taking us down, one by one, and because of Zeke's yelling, they took him instead of Illusion. My eyes remained wide and I was panic-stricken.

Illusion just shrugged with such a calm face. "I think he fell of the pier."

…wow. I couldn't even tell if he was joking or totally serious. I ignored him, knowing that it'd strain my brain if I even tried to comprehend Illusion's mind. I started to search again for the mysterious brown figure, arms shaking, heart pounding, frightened of what Pokémon could be so fast.

Another blur of brown passed by Illusion's leg, and immediately I took action. One of my shady vines shot forward towards the figure, the appendage ready to wrap something up in its grasp. It swerved around Illusion's leg to where the brown was, instantly latching onto the figure, luckily keeping the small creature in the grip. It felt furry, a furry small brown figure.

I slowly retracted my vines, moving the struggling Pokémon so I could see it. A patch of really soft light brown fur was on its face, and the rest of it was a bit of a darker brown with a black spot on its back. Immediately I recognized this figure as a lillipup, but it wasn't Rachel, it was a guy. It surprised me at how speedy the canine was for its small stature. A thought came to mind, and if this was some annoying lillipup that was chasing Rachel so he could have her as a mate, instantly I'd chuck him into the ocean. No more travelers!

His lips curled back to show his impressive set of canines. Those brown eyes had a vile look in them and his fur stood on end. A fearsome growl escaped his throat, adding a deeper affect to the fierceness he was trying to show. It just made me tighten the vine further on his body. His growl was cut off from the lack of air he had, but he refused to stop his worthless struggling.

His brown muzzle quickly moved down close to the bind around him, and instantly he dug his sharp fangs into part of the vine. Pain coursed up and down the appendage. It made me weak and my grip loosened, my mind stuck on the fiery burn that emitted from the deep bite. A small, thick liquid oozed from where his jaws still laid stubbornly, one that gave a creepy affect to the darkness on the vine.

He took his window of opportunity to tense his muscles, than he wiggled loose of the grasp. When he leapt out I quickly reeled in my injured appendage to take a closer look at the wound. Deep bite marks stood where the fangs pierced through the skin, the deep red liquid sticking to the black scales, and a throbbing pain remained there. There was no time to patch it up so instead I fully retracted my vines and looked back at the agile pup.

The lillipup didn't bother to hide anymore, instead taking on an attack stance. The deep growl he had returned to him. Just what we needed: a battle in one of the highest populated cities in Unova. Not only that, but half our numbers vanished because of that slick Pokémon. Despite his wicked unkempt appearance, he must have belonged to a trainer with his strength and speed. No wild Pokémon could've been that strong. I was surprised it wasn't evolved yet.

Then I saw something, right next to the lillipup, another brown Pokémon in an attack stance. It had a creamy mane that was tainted with several deposits of sand, the same color on the tip of its tail. The rest of it was a thick brown fur coat that was entwined with even more sand. I never saw that Pokémon before, but I could tell it was a girl. Now that I got a better glance at the lillipup, I saw some patches of sand stuck in his pelt too. So these two probably went through that desert that filled in the gap between Castelia and Nimbasa. It was probably a hard thing to go through.

My head felt like a wasp's nest. Who were these Pokémon, and why did they want to fight? Plus where did Rachel and Zeke go? All I wanted to do was beat the strangers senseless for trying to attack me, and I wasn't going to turn down this fight, but I knew that if I attacked them mindlessly than I'd never find out why they were there nor get answers to the other questions.

"Shadow, you're coming with us!" the creamy mane Pokémon barked with hate laced in her voice.

"Why?!" I hissed. I wasn't going anywhere, but I still needed answers.

"We're from Team Plasma, and we're taking you in to keep you from interfering with our plans!" the lillipup answered. He snapped his daggered teeth in the air, giving me the impression that he was bred for mauling.

It was them, the very Team Plasma that Illusion convinced me to go after and try to disband since it didn't work the first time. It was only a small fraction compared to whatever numbers they had, but getting rid of some of their members would help take them down. But how did they know I was going to interfere with their plans? My glare moved to Illusion, only to see him fleeing from the area and darting to the city.

That traitor! Quickly I pieced it together. He told Team Plasma that I was going to interfere, came out and told me to do it, and now they were going to probably kill me! That's what I get for trusting others. I knew 'changing for the better' was a stupid thing. Why would he even set me up? Oh, he was probably trying to get his revenge. I should've tackled him off that cliff when I had the chance.

"Who are you?!" I demanded. I didn't want to lash out at them just yet, so I decided to stall with the question.

"I'm Falcon, and this is Diamond. If you're too stupid to tell, we're a lillipup and an eevee," the lillipup barked as he clawed the ground impatiently. He looked at 'Diamond' repeatedly, waiting for a sign to spring forward in attack mode. So that was what an eevee looked like. I only heard small talk about them and how they could evolve into eight different species because of their outstanding ability to adapt to any environment, but finally I saw that supposedly rare species.

No more small talk, it was time to be serious. I shot forward with my arm encased in an eerie shadowy mist, my claws sharpened into pointed blades, and my blood ran with adrenaline at the new fight. As I closed in on the two Pokémon, they each leapt out of the way and I sailed pass them. Instantly I redirected the attack and charged towards Falcon. Before I could turn out of the way, I saw his fangs were sharper if that was even possible, and it was surrounded by a dark mist.

He leapt to the side while I tried to turn out of the way, but he already sunk his deadly fangs deep into the base of my tail. I gave out a shrill cry before the dark power around my arm dispersed and I tumbled to the ground. There was more pain, shooting up and down my tail in agony, throbbing in my retracted vine, those two appendages flawed and disfigured. If I tried to form an Iron Tail, it'd just create more pain, and I couldn't use my vines at all to try and trap one of the quadruples.

Shakily I tried to stand up, but the steadfast eevee barreled into me and I tumbled towards the sunburned man. I caught a glance of him to see Falcon was getting him out of the way, tilting his lounge chair so it would tip over the edge of the pier. When I took another attempt of standing, another fierce blow from Diamond shoved me ragged into the middle of the pier.

My whole body felt pounded in and I felt as worn out as a rag doll. I got my arms sturdy and shaking uncontrollably I got onto my tired feet. Last thing I knew I was in the ground out of breath; right after Diamond full-forced tackled me in the stomach and sent me flying. I couldn't breathe and the only thing I could do was silently cry out while warm tears leaked from my eyes. The pain was nearly unbearable, and when I realized I was crying I moved a heavily bruised arm to wipe them away.

Finally my breathing returned, but they were in exasperated fast gasps. I refused to lose. I couldn't afford to lose. I slowly and painfully got back onto my feet and eyed the brutal eevee, seeing some weird energy being powered up in her muzzle. Falcon was staring at Diamond as if waiting for the battle to finish. The orb of dark energy formed into a huge ball and she fired it. As it grew closer I could hear a strange sound pulsing from the Shadow Ball, but quickly I tried to duck and avoid impact.

Narrowly I evaded the ball of blackened energy, only to see another one rocketing towards me. I barely managed to cry out a gasp before it shot into me, too late to dodge. I flew backwards several meters, skidding against the concrete, tumbling around till I lay heavily breathing by the pier.

The pain was too immense and wouldn't fade. I either wanted to scream or crumple in a heap. My body refused to move, my eyes were sealed tight, and my whole grass snake body wouldn't stop shaking with fear of getting tackled again.

A paw was forced down on my head and the paw clenched it in a tight grasp. I forced myself to open my eyes and glance up, seeing Diamond's paw pressed firmly on my marred head. When she noticed my glance she glared daggers at me before putting more pressure down. I winced and couldn't reopen my eyes anymore.

Her hot breath was hitting the side of my head. "Good night, Shadow," she growled malevolently. Her paw forced more pressure down and I was sure my skull would shatter, and I would scream in agony if I wasn't so weak. My major headache increased in intensity, and the last thing I heard was a snort from Diamond before everything faded.


	16. Escape Pt 1

**LEFT YOU AT QUITE A CLIFFHANGER DIDN'T I?! HEHEHEH x3 whatever, here's Chapter 16 for you! Well stop reading this, the chapter is right below! :D**

**Zeke's POV**

Everything… hurt.

My whole body felt limp and sore, and there was a monstrous headache that I couldn't shake off. My arms would tremble when I tried to move them and the area around me was freezing. I was extremely tired and exhausted. Pain was everywhere; in my tail, my arms, my head, my stomach, almost like I was beaten till my tail looked like a shriveled up rope and my head looked like a deflated balloon.

I forced my eyes to open. Everything was blurry at first while I adjusted to my surroundings, but I was able to see that most of the area was brown and gray. I shifted on the cold flat surface below me, shivering at the frigid temperature that nipped at my skin, and blinked a couple times to help my eyesight. Lines started to form and I could make out shapes, mostly rectangles. Finally when I got in a sitting-up position, I saw I was in a steel cage. Outside the cage was dirt and sands everywhere. My head spun around at all the questions that hit me, but the one thing that I really wanted answered was why I was in a cage. Did I do something bad?

"Look who's up," a familiar voice groaned. Instantly I turned my head around, seeing that Shadow and Rachel were standing near me with ticked-off expressions.

I was glad they were there, but it was starting to increase my fear. Something bad happened to all of us, except Illusion. There were so many things I needed to ask, but I had to have my main question answered first. "Why are we in a cage?"

The mutant snivy scoffed and folded his arms. "We were ambushed by a snobby eevee and lillipup, than taken here," he hissed. His voice was filled with hatred and animosity.

"Taken where?"

"To… Team Plasma's secret base," Rachel whimpered. Unlike Shadow's voice, hers was filled with despair and anguish. My eyes shot wide open. We were in Team Plasma's secret base?!

"What happened?!"

The mutant snivy scoffed again. "Like I said, we were ambushed by a freaking snobby eevee and lillipup! They found out that we were going to try and stop them, and Illusion was a traitor… and told them… gah! Why didn't I see this coming?!" Shadow pounded his black leafy hands against his temples and screamed a few curses. While Rachel tried to calm him down, I let the new information sink in. Last thing that I remembered was lounging around on Illusion's shoulder when I saw someone, than I tried to warn Illusion but someone grabbed me, and then everything was blank.

My eyes shrank when I let the part about Illusion settle. He was a traitor, but he was so awesome! Illusion was the kind of Pokémon that understood the brightness in life. Shadow had liked things for a while but some reason he went back to being dark, and he started despising everything again. Rachel wasn't like Shadow at all, but she wasn't on the bright side of things either; she usually pointed out other's mistakes like a hobby. Illusion was dark with Team Plasma, but when he was released, or when we thought he was released, he took on a whole new level in life. How could he just lie to us… like that?

The lillipup was able to calm down my brother. Shadow still looked pretty steamed, but he appeared to be able to control his rage for the moment. Since I realized we were at the core of Team Plasma's hideout, I started to think about how we were going to take down the remainder. Yet I wasn't sure it was a good idea to either attack Team Plasma or escape. "Shadow, what are we going to do now?"

"Isn't it obvious?" he muttered. "We escape, simple as that."

Rachel nodded, agreeing with his blunt plan. I raised an eyebrow. "Why not attack Team Plasma, right here, right now?" Shadow glared at me, causing me to feel myself shrink under his gaze.

"Are you kidding me right now Zeke?!" Shadow snapped. "Maybe you haven't noticed, but all around this cage there are some of the toughest Pokémon I've ever seen! Just… just take a look!"

Afraid not to check, I avoided his searing gaze while I padded over to the cage bars. Each step I took made a bit of a clang sound on the freezing metal floor, adding to the creepy appeal. It was strange that we were in the desert and the cage was so cold. When I was at the bars, I wrapped a dark scaly hand around them and peered through a small gap. In front of the cage were two emotionless Pokémon that appeared to be guards. Each of them had a block of crusty sand on their back like a shell, and they had crab-like features. In the distance pass the unmoving Pokémon, I saw several others with dark expressions and evil-like appearances. I saw a couple of them were huge crocodile-like creatures with rough red skin and black stripes, and a giant set of jaws.

Rachel padded stiffly next to me, and I noticed that she still had her red scarf on, which showed that they didn't take our stuff. She lifted a paw and pointed to the Pokémon with the blocks of stone and sand on their backs. "These are crustle, powerful rock and bug types." Her hand pointed to the giant crocodile Pokémon. "They're krookodile, and they're amazingly tough ground and dark type Pokémon." She pointed to several other Pokémon, a few bisharp, a couple swoobat, and some Pokémon from a different region. There was a ghost Pokémon who had four hands and its body looked like a tomb or coffin, and it was called cofagrigus. There was something called a scolipede that was about eight feet tall and when Rachel pointed to it, its head sharply turned in our direction and I shuddered. There were so many Pokémon there.

Trembling lightly, I backed away from the bars. How were there so many fierce evil-like Pokémon there? If this was the remainder of Team Plasma after the incident by the Pokémon League, than how were we supposed to leave? "H-How are we supposed to escape with these guys around?" I made sure to keep my voice low because of the crustle.

Rachel gave out a small smile. "Leave that to me." With that she sat down right next to the bars, some reason deciding not to let us know about her plan. After a few seconds of nothing happening, she dropped to the ground, paws over her muzzle, and tears streaming down from her eyes. I noticed one of the crustle glanced at her, but it did nothing more.

There was a pang in my heart at Rachel being so sad. Why was she crying? What was that going to accomplish? Rachel continued to tear up, her sobs growing louder, and she kept crying for a minute, which for me felt like an agonizing eternity.

Finally a crustle slammed a pincher down, than both of the stone home Pokémon turned to face the crying lillipup. "Can you shut up?!" one of the guards hissed, his voice stone hard and only showed anger.

Rachel sniffed a couple times before she got back into her sitting up position. "I-I-I'm s-sorry…" she sobbed, wiping the crusty tears from her eyes. "I-It's just… j-just…" She brought her paw up again and wiped a few more tears. The emotionless faces the crustle had turned into a mix of anger, pity, and despair.

Suddenly, her entire fragile act dispersed and a smirk made its way to her face. She winked at the two Pokémon whose buggy eyes slowly went wide, and then Rachel made some sort of goofy dance in front of the Pokémon. Both of their stares were locked on her, but emotion started to show and their strong stature faded. Pink hearts spun around the crustle, and then they closed in on them and disappeared. When she finished, her gentle gaze stayed on the two crustle, their eyes wide and smiles on their faces.

"What… was that?" I asked.

"The move Attract," she replied. I blinked as a memory came back to me. When we were back at Striaton city there was a purrloin who used Attract. When did Rachel learn Attract? Strange…

Recalling the memory back at Striaton city reminded me that the purrloin was also Illusion. My eyes went as wide as something dawned on me. If the Attract worked on me, then that meant that Illusion was a girl in the purrloin transformation, which meant Illusion could transform into different genders. I wanted to scream so much, but I barely managed to stifle it. Okay, that transformation thing with Illusion was officially way too freaky!

Snapping out of those creepy thoughts, I directed my attention back to Rachel and the two crustle guards. Both of the crab Pokémon were admiring the lillipup from behind the bars, their rough skinned cheeks a bright pink. Rachel struck a couple poses that seemed to get them deeper in their abyss of awe.

I nearly gagged. It was weird how I fell in love with Illusion who was a _guy, _or who was supposed to be a guy but… was a girl as a purrloin but in reality was a guy, but… it was too confusing! Long story short, romance was starting to really sick me out. I tried to ignore the longing gaze both of the crustle had while Rachel spoke. "Can you guys, possibly, let us out of this cold cag… oh, thank you?" One of the crustle used a pincher and dislodged the lock, the cage's door creaking open.

"Huh, well whaddya know," Shadow remarked. "You know we shouldn't keep that door open too wide unless you have a plan. We don't want other Pokémon here seeing that the cage is unlocked."

Rachel frowned a bit, and then she made sure the door was only open a slit so no one would notice it. "Well can someone else come up with a plan?"

"You can kiss me," a crustle blurted out. Rachel responded by reaching a paw up and slapping him, but his romance phase remained strong.

"Any plan that actually makes sense?" she spat, snarling partially.

Shadow huffed and spoke up. "We can sneak around behind the crustle. Those blocks of stone can definitely shield us," he suggested. Rachel shook her head at the idea, saying that there were too many Pokémon spread out.

While the two travelers started to send ideas back and forth, arguing how there was no way that they'd work, I tried my best to zone them out and look around the base. I stared at all the corrupted Pokémon and their trainers as they done various activities in the room. I wondered how big the base was, curious if it was just a few rooms or a huge underground system. I started examining the area, at the dusty walls, the sandy floor, the metal ceiling, the evil-looking Pokémon… wait, metal ceiling?

I stared up at the top of the room, seeing several metal beams in a carefully organized pattern. They must've been used to keep the desert from caving in on their underground base. I squinted and peered closer, seeing that there was lots of space up there. Looking closer at the beams, I saw holes in the walls that the metal went through, which meant that the beams were connected with others in different rooms.

An idea struck me like a lightning bolt. I whirled around to face the arguing snivy and lillipup, and quickly interjected in their chatter. "Guys, I got an idea." Both turned to face me with their slightly aggravated expressions, and then I pointed to the metal ceiling. "Look at all the room that's up there, enough to run around and climb on, right? We can use our vines to drag us and Rachel up, and then we can sneak along the beams into other rooms till we get to the entrance, and we're home free!"

"We don't have a home," Shadow pointed out.

"It's an expression," I muttered. "Hey, is it a good plan or not?"

Rachel sighed. "Everything sounds good, except how are we supposed to get up to the ceiling without others noticing us?" Once again she found a flaw. She was good at finding flaws, but instantly I thought of a solution.

"A distraction!" I exclaimed, turning towards the two lovesick crustle. "You two, you think you can create a good distraction for about ten or so seconds?" Both of the bugs glanced at Rachel, who was waiting for an answer, and then both nodded their heads. "Good, that should be long enough, right Rachel, Shadow?"

"Sure," both agreed with a shrug. "Seems good enough." When both noticed that they just talked at the same time twice, they momentarily glared at each other before snapping back to the current situation.

So the plan was in action, and the crustle scurried off towards a far corner of the room. I was a bit nervous that one of the evil Pokémon would notice that there were no guards in front of our cage and it'd create some commotion, than the whole plan would be ruined without it even starting.

The crustle managed to make their way towards a corner of the sandy room, casually walking so that not much attention was brought to them. They stood in the corner for a while, pretending like they were relaxing, regularly chatting, and acted like they were just taking a small break before they had to spring into battle for Team Plasma. Suddenly, one of the crustle opened his mouth and screamed, one full of fake agony and pain, and collapsed to the ground. Practically all eyes were zeroed on him, eyes filled with shock and curiosity. When he bellowed another scream, everyone was looking at the two and walking closer to the scene.

We took the short opportunity, so Rachel pushed the cage door open and the three of us dashed out. Shadow and I shot out our shady black vines towards one of the metal beams, as quick as we could, and then without hesitation we reeled ourselves in. Shadow had one vine wrapped around Rachel's torso so all of us could head up at one time. The beam grew in size as we advanced toward it at a rapid rate, and once we were about to collide with the beam we used an athletic gesture and flipped on top of the flat surface. Heaving, my vine remained tight around the metal while I just stood there, stunned, staring at the Pokémon below. I was extremely worried that they saw a glimpse of us, or that someone's attention wasn't on the crustle and instead at the ceiling and we would easily get caught.

That scolipede's antennas shot up and quivered a bit. It was the same scolipede that turned sharply around to face me earlier. I stood paralyzed on the beam as his head slowly turned around towards the ceiling, but while halfway turned another shrill cry shot from the crustle, and his attention resumed on his wailing. I choked down my sigh of relief as I retracted my vines and tried to relax my breathing. My tail was tingling with how close a call that was, and we were lucky that he was the only Pokémon that wasn't very concentrated on the guards. I whirled around to see Shadow and Rachel ready to run towards the hole in the wall a beam went through, towards another room, so quickly I copied their running stance.

Shadow led the way towards the hole, mainly because he was the fastest in our group. Rachel was second fastest because I was still not a full grown snivy so my speed was slower compared to others. Our feet and paws tapped against the material with each step in our strides. I was afraid that some Pokémon would hear our running from below, but fortunately no one looked up. The mutant snivy disappeared into the other room, followed by the lillipup, and seconds later I joined them.

The room was pretty much identical to the one we just were in, except there was a dusty tube in a wall. It looked like an elevator except it had a circular design and it was made of glass. A guy dressed in a Team Plasma uniform pressed a button on a panel next to the tube, and glass doors slid open for him to walk inside. Once he was in, he pressed something on a panel inside the tube, then the doors slid shut, and the tube carried him upwards till he disappeared, going up to the desert surface. So it even operated like an elevator; it was probably some sort of advanced machine they came up with so the dirt and dust wouldn't dysfunction the device.

"So now what, we just sneak into that elevator thing?" Shadow asked.

Rachel nodded. "What else is there to do? It leads up to the surface. Now do we need another distraction or what?"

"Maybe we can blend in and act like we're members of Team Plasma. It's not like everyone knows we were prisoners," Shadow suggested, earning another respective nod from Rachel. "Okay then, let's head down."

Staring at the ground below, I noticed that there was way less Pokémon in that room. The one we were in had about half the amount of members than from the previous one. There were probably more members in the first room because we were in there as prisoners, or the screaming of the crustle attracted more attention. Either way, it would help us escape easier.

We walked along the beams till we reached a corner of the room, since getting down in the shadows would help us avoid the eyes of Team Plasma easier. Shadow and I wrapped our vines tightly against the metal beam again, one of Shadow's vines around Rachel too, and I waited for him to spring into action.

When it appeared that most of the Team Plasma members were looking in a different direction, Shadow jumped from the beam and quickly rushed towards the floor. Within that second I jumped and followed the two Pokémon, and we soon were on the sand with our vines retracted, none of the few Pokémon and trainers staring at us. "Now, follow my lead," Shadow whispered.

He hesitated at first but Shadow walked out from the shadows of the corner, exposing him into the room filled with corrupted Team Plasma members. I shuddered before I followed his lead, and Rachel crept out last. A few Pokémon glanced at us for a second, unblinking, but they forgot about us and went back to their own business. I choked down another one of my sighs of relief and followed Shadow towards the elevator tube.

I glanced at Shadow and whispered. "So, are we forgetting on stopping the rest of Team Plasma?" I asked.

"Of course. Illusion set us up, and the only way to get to White Forest without being kidnapped again is to forget about this stupid team."

A Team Plasma trainer trudged through the sand towards the machine. We waited with evil expressions by the guy, waiting for the doors to slide open. He pressed a button on the panel, the glass doors slid open, and he walked in, but he kept a hand on the rim of the tube so we could come in with him. Good thing being a mutant made us look evil, and Rachel was mistaken for one of their lillipups.

The doors slid close with the four of us inside. An eerie silence began to set in, but the human broke it quickly. "So, you guys are meeting your trainer at the surface, right?" he asked. In response the three of us nodded in unison. I was so happy that he didn't recognize us as the prisoners. He then smiled and patted Rachel on the head. "Nice scarf Falcon. Did you get that for catching those prisoners I keep hearing about? I heard another prize you're getting is getting the final part of your training to evolve into a herdier. Where's Diamond?"

So Rachel was mistaken for some lillipup named Falcon; good thing humans couldn't tell most Pokémon's genders a part with just a look. I guessed that since he was assuming Rachel was that specific Pokémon Falcon, then Falcon was probably the only lillipup that Team Plasma had in the base for the moment. The only Pokémon I saw there were tough ones, and I didn't see one lillipup. The Team Plasma grunt also said that Falcon helped capture us, so Falcon was that lillipup that Shadow mentioned. So Diamond was probably the eevee.

In response, Rachel pointed upwards with a paw. "Oh, she's at the surface. Okay then, thanks Falcon." He petted the annoyed Rachel one last time before we reached the surface and the glass doors slid open, revealing the desert. All four of us stepped out onto the sand. Behind us the tube closed and descended again, leaving by a panel sticking out of the sand to get the elevator to come back up. "So Falcon, where's Diamond and your trainer?"

Rachel pointed her paw further in the desert, and the grunt nodded in understanding. "Oh, they're waiting for you in the desert somewhere. Okay, I won't hold you up. I'm on my way to Nimbasa city, so see ya." With that he headed in some random direction.

The lillipup grinned. "Well that was easy. Team Plasma still is lame," she huffed. "And if he is going that way to Nimbasa city that means…" She looked in the opposite direction from where he walked. "This is the way to Castelia." She looked back towards where he was walking, already nearly vanished in the raging sandstorm. "So finally, we're almost in Nimbasa!"

A buzzing sound went off, the ground below us shaking. My eyes went wide. "W-W-Wh-a-a-t I-Is h-ha…" I stopped talking, hearing that the shaking ground was messing with my voice.

"An a-alarm p-p-probably went-t o-off b-b-belo-ow," Shadow stammered. "T-They know w-w-we're m-missing!"

Rachel growled. "I knew it was too easy. We need to get out of this desert, and fast!"

**MORE CLIFFHANGERZ *Evil Laughter***

** Team Plasma is still after them! Rachel, Zeke, Shadow, will they make it? PROBABLY NOT, it will take some sort of MIRACLE to save them now, because did you see all those tough Pokémon?! Maybe a certain Pokémon may come by, OR NOT! It may seem like I'm hinting that a Pokémon will show up, but you'll only find out the truth in the next chapter! Well everyone, have an awesome day!**


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